Everything is Fine

by Andysonic1

First published 9th of July, 2012

A meteor changes everything Fluttershy knows about reality, and herself

When the princesses of Equestria fail to stop a disaster, the only survivor is Fluttershy. In a world devoid of everything she once knew, she must learn to survive on her own. But as the need for friendship overflows inside her, she will do what she must to stay happy. In hell, she will create a paradise.

And pay the price for the love she so desires.

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This fanfic takes place sometime in the middle of season two, and uses only lore from season one and some from season two. Future seasons are not accounted for in this fiction, nor any comics or other canon creations after season two.
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Chapters listed below with parts!

~ Prelude - Meteor ~
Shooting Star
The Sign For Love

~ Part One - To Survive in Hell ~
Whistle While You Work
School Fillies
Rainbow Crash
Inside Out
Campfire Stories

~ Part Two - To Love in Paradise ~
Sleepless Nights
Winter Wrap Up Part One & Two
Whatever You Want is Fine

~ Part Three - To Kill in Anger ~
Thousands Part One
Far
Thousands Part Two & Three
Play
Thousands Part Four
Shocker Part One
Shocker Part Two and Three Abridged
Somewhere to Lay Part One & Two
Los Pegasus
Somewhere to Lay Part Three
Do You Hear Me Yet?
The Catalyst

~ Part Four - To Search in Vain ~
Where is the Edge
The Trail of Tears
City by the Sea
Dark Vengeance
Sunlight Through a Straw

~ Part Five - To Cause, in Effect ~

Prelude - Shooting Star

“Fluttershy! There you are, I’ve been looking all over for you,” Rainbow Dash said as she flew to the ground next to the yellow pony.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m trying to get all the animals to calm down, they’ve been running around since this morning... what is it Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy continued chasing after a dray of squirrels as she spoke, making the blue pegasus run along after her.

“We need to get out of here Fluttershy, back to Ponyville. You knew it was today, right? The meteor comes down today! Didn’t any pony tell you? Now come on, lets go!”

Fluttershy stopped chasing the squirrels but kept on eye on them as they ran farther up the hill. “Oh no, I know it’s today, and I’m sorry you had to come all the way over here for me... But I’m not coming. I need to make sure the animals are okay.”

“But Twilight’s shield magic thing is only going to be over Ponyville!” Rainbow said, clearly frustrated. The animal loving pony did not look too deeply into her friend’s tone as tensions were high all over Equestria today.

“But, Princess Celestia is going to destroy the meteor before it comes close, right? If she can raise the sun every morning then she can definitely save us from a shooting star… I mean, I don’t mean to be rude, but it shouldn’t be necessary to shield us from something that won’t hurt us anyway…” Fluttershy put her head down, becoming quite uncomfortable turning down the offer.

“It’s just in case something goes wrong, I don’t know...” Rainbow wasn’t sure how to phrase a proper answer, so she gave up. She wanted to get back to Ponyville soon anyway.

“Fine, I’ll tell Twilight you’d rather be with your animals in the woods than with your friends! You know, Fluttershy, it’s great that you care about animals and all, but sometimes I’m not sure your love for them is really that healthy. Sometimes things go wrong, what will you do then?”

The Rainbow pony flew away before Fluttershy could apologize or even get a word in. She felt terrible now, she was just trying to help and make sure the animals were fine. She didn’t mean to upset any pony… but things were going to work out fine, she just knew it. How could it go wrong?

There was a tap on her leg, and the pony nearly jumped from the shock before turning to see what it was. Angel, her bunny friend, simply trying to get her attention. Once she took notice of him, the silent animal pointed up the hill to the squirrels nearly out of sight. She thanked Angel and ran up the hill to catch up with them. She just wanted to gather and calm as many animals as she could during the meteor’s fall and destruction. Everything else will be fine, she thought.

Once at the top, a cave became visible not far away, and it seemed the squirrels and a few other animals had already taken to hiding there. The cave was fairly large. It could easily fit most of her smaller animals and maybe a couple others as well. She decided it was a good place to stay with the animals, and went in herself.

She laid down next to the squirrels and birds, which were still quivering in fear, despite the safe location. Fluttershy knew how to help. It always helped to calm animals; her singing.

She cleared her throat and started singing slow, calm melodies for the animals. Soon the birds joined in and sang along the wordless tune in harmony with her, and more animals followed the sound and entered the cave. More birds, squirrels, bunnies, and even Angel showed a small sign of enjoyment. It was just going perfectly, she smiled seeing all the animals with her.

By the time she had stopped singing, the cave was nearly full of animals, all calm and relaxed.

The yellow Pegasus saw more animals coming in the distance, as they got closer, she became somewhat worried. A bear, at least, could be seen. And what appeared to be a few deer, and then a Manticore came into sight. There was no way all of them could fit in the cave. She got up and walked to the cave entrance to talk with them and explain the issue.

But she did not even get a chance, they all saw each other and tried getting in first. And before she could stop it there were three animals stuck against the rocks on either side of the entrance, unable to enter. The other animals outside were trying to enter past them.

“Oh, dear. Uh, I really am sorry, Sirs, but there really isn’t enough room in this cave for all of you… I can assure you, everything will be fine, you’re bigger than these animals, you can handle yourself out there, while these ones are frightened and need shelter…but, of course, I am sorry I can’t help you.” Fluttershy tried to reason, but the creatures roared to each other in annoyance, ignoring the pegasus.

More animals were outside and trying to crawl in, knowing it was safer but uncaring to the needs of the other animals. More creatures stuffed themselves into the cave entrance, only a few actually fitting through the cracks before a larger animal tried to enter through them and clogged it up further. It took only minutes until the cave entrance was covered with hostile animals. The cave became dark and black.

“Oh no… Please, listen to me for a second, -no, oh dear please calm down. This isn’t going to work unless you, oh my…” The yellow pony backed up from the angry mob of animals, and back into a corner of the small cavern.

The larger animal’s roars were scaring the smaller animals, who began running around in the darkness, tripping over each other. The roars were far too loud to sing over. The animals were all so unhappy, and Fluttershy had no idea what to do. The chaos of the scene was overwhelming her.

The Pegasus sat down and tears started filling her eyes. She could hear all the animals around her, running into each other, into the walls, into the creature-filled entrance… she was helpless, it was all hopeless and she couldn't do anything about it. Worst of all, she blamed herself for it.

Angel found her, and laid next to her to comfort her as best he could. He knew she meant the best for all the animals. He was the only one there who was paying enough attention to hear the pony’s poor whimpers as she cried to herself in the chaos and darkness. He swore to help her in any way he could, but right now there was absolutely nothing he could do.

The earth shook, and all the animals froze for just a moment.

There was an ear-splitting crack from outside the cave, originating miles away. The earth shook. Fluttershy whimpered in fear.

Before the pony could come to any conclusions, she heard the bears and the elks and all other stuck animals cry out in sudden pain. The smaller animals in the cave hid in the corners away from them.

The screaming lasted only seconds before it died out.

“Is… is everyone alright?” The shaken pony stood up, brushing away tears from her eyes. The cave was still pitch black and she couldn’t see anything.

She excused herself through the small creatures to the entrance. The cavern was oddly silent compared to its last minute. Though Fluttershy wouldn’t accept that something could have gone wrong. The sound must have been the destruction of the meteor, and there was surely a safe explanation for the animal’s cries… everything was fine.

“Hello? Are you all okay? Oh dear, please someone answer me…” She got closer to what she remembered as the entrance. It had a strange and terrible smell seeping through. The pony stuck her hoof out and walked closer, after a few steps she made contact with the fleshy wall. She banished any negative thoughts, and nudged the compact pile. Angel stood nearby, unable and unwilling to break the truth to his friend.

Fluttershy pushed against the wall as it was growing harder for her to remain so ignorant. The animals inside started to panic, and hopped, ran, and flew around the cave making all assortments of cries. The animals that clogged the wall remained silent.

She was starting to panic now, tears coming yet again to her eyes. She needed to get out; she needed to help however she could. She apologized and hit harder against the wall, harder and harder until it began moving. Once more she hit the creature harder, almost sobbing in her own panic.

Finally a piece fell from the wall, letting the light into the black cave, and into Fluttershy’s eyes. She winced, and found she was unable to open her eyes without a flare of pain. But she would still leave, she simply had to. To help the animals.

Fluttershy put a leg through the new hole, it felt... soft. And a little more damp than she had expected. She ignored this and moved on, stepping forward and placing her next leg into the nook. The little pony had to move her head out of direct sunlight that hurting even through her eyelids.

She took a step forward and put a hind leg onto the step, crawling farther onward. her next step created a small disconcerting crunch, and was a little less soft. The pegasus gave this no thought, and brought her last leg through the hole, allowing her to crawl through to the other side.

The flesh she stepped over was flaky, and felt like it peeled off as she brushed past it. She was hyperventilating, trying harder not to think about what she was stepping through. She felt the wet fur dampen her mane as she crawled under it, each step and movement peeled more flesh away.

She rushed through and made it to the other side of the wall, falling down onto the dirt. She had never been so relieved to fall face-first into dirt in her life.

Blind, the yellow pony stood up outside the cave, feeling a breeze through her mane, she took in a deep breath of air, relieved.

She gagged, and nearly vomited. The stench outside the cave was the most horrific thing she had ever smelt.

Other animals followed her path out, only to share the terrible smell. Most of them took off in various directions.

Angel, however, went straight to Fluttershy, who stood in place nearly a full minute before finally braving the stark light and opening her eyes.

She did not need to look any further than the cave. It held by its entrance half a dozen burnt animals, bone clearly visible through the black flesh. The fronts of the animals were almost pristine, having been saved from the fire by the blocked cave entrance.

The pony threw her head away and vomited from the shock and sight of her cave’s protectors. She never wanted this. This couldn’t be right. This could never happen.

She staggered away from the cave, trying to put distance between her and it. The very thought of what she had just done forced her legs into motion.

Fluttershy’s eyes became shrouded with tears as she sobbed. She turned away from the unsightly horror and down to the village from the top of the hill. She wanted nothing more now than to go to her friends. I should have gone to Ponyville with Rainbow Dash, then at least we could be together under the shield.

Soon, however, she saw how torn apart her world had become. The houses were on fire, and not a pony could be seen from that distance.

Angel went to her side, too worried to comfort her, instead clutching her leg and shaking uncontrollably. There wasn’t anything that could be done. The Princess destroyed the meteor too late. Twilight’s magic had failed. Everything was ruined, and nothing would ever be the same.

No.

This couldn’t be happening, this kind of thing never happens in Equestria. Nothing this bad has ever happened in Ponyville. It doesn’t make sense. It just couldn’t happen.

Angel looked to Fluttershy desperately for comfort, and she looked down at him. She smiled, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Don’t worry Angel. Everything is fine.”

This isn’t happening.

Nothing bad is happening.

Everything is fine.

Chapter 1 - The Sign for Love

Zero years, three months after meteor...

Wind whistled through the broken glass window. A little wooden bird figurine too close to the edge of the dresser was forced over by the breeze, clattering loudly in the quiet night. The lone pony’s eyes shot open. Darkness had claimed the room.

“Hello?” Fluttershy said softly, “Is somepony there?”

The wind responded by picking up slightly. Otherwise, not a sound was heard. The pegasus’s eyes roamed the room but saw nothing out of place. A jagged hole in her roof revealed the moon still half way through its tour. Silence.

The pony was about to close her eyes again when the twitch of a shadow shot them open again. He was nothing more than a shadow among shadows, but she could make out Angel standing in the middle of the room. “Angel? What is it?” she said, her heartbeat returning to normal.

Angel’s little head shook slowly back and forth.

“Nothing..?” Fluttershy asked, “Then back to bed with you, mister. You need your rest.” She smiled as she snuggled back into a more comfortable position and closed her eyes. No matter how much she pushed, the little rabbit wouldn’t go to bed sometimes. That was ok. He wanted to watch over her.

It was good to have protecting friends.

The sun had risen on another glorious day. It felt so good Fluttershy just had to smile. She was walking from her cottage over to her good friend Twilight’s home in the library. Applejack had asked the pegasus to help her with planting this year’s spring harvest instead of working with the animals. Fluttershy accepted when her friend had told her they needed everypony they could get. Winter had come and gone so fast no one could remember it. Spring had sprung under everyponies nose.

Ponyville was a ghost town. It was obvious why, to Fluttershy at least. Everypony was off doing their best to help spring get underway. The seasons did not change without the help of the ponies. That was the way it had always been and would always be.

As the pony walked past Sugar Cube Corner, the sign shuddered and fell from its hinges over the door to the ground. The sound made her jump and look around excitedly. “Hello? Is anypony there?”

A gust kicked up her hair in reply. Fluttershy calmed down. She walked to the broken sign and made a mental note to tell the Cakes about it when she got the chance. Mr. and Mrs. Cake always kept a clean shop and baked the most delicious meals. They would want to know if their shop was broken, but she was in a hurry.

The walk from the bakery to the library was short. The pegasus smiled as she saw her unicorn friend leaning against the doorway. Twilight Sparkle had been the first pony Fluttershy had come across when she got out of the cave three months ago. The “just in case” spell that protected the town and saved everypony from the meteor had taken away her voice. That was ok, though. She didn’t need to say anything. They were already such great friends.

Fluttershy walked to the door where her friend leaned and beamed. Twilight had suffered a few injuries here and there lately. The pegasus had helped her friend get better, though she still had a long way to go. “Good morning, Twilight,” she said happily, “How are you feeling?”

The skeleton of the long dead unicorn stared blankly ahead. Wires, glue, and tape kept her bones together and upright. Still, the wind had knocked her into the wall where she leaned. Her front right leg, the one closest to the doorway, was at an awkward angle.

Sighing softly, “Oh Twilight, can’t you go one day without hurting yourself more?” The pegasus had come prepared. She turned her head and took a spool of copper wire out from under her wing. She almost never flew anywhere anymore, preferring to use her wings to hold things she would need in her daily life.

Wiring Twilight’s leg back to her body was a snap. She didn’t even cringe when her hoof bushed against the decaying skin still attached to her friend’s bones. Because there was no decaying skin, she reminded herself. Her unicorn friend had just gotten a small injury that she was helping her with. The smile on Twilight’s face, teeth gleaming, showed how happy she was.

“You need to take better care of yourself,” Fluttershy said quietly. Her friend just smiled back at her and forced her to smile. “You just stay here and rest, I’ll find the book I’m after.”

The pegasus walked past her friend into the library. A recent fire had consumed most of the books on the shelves of the first floor. One side of the room opened to a gaping hole. Fluttershy knew she wouldn’t find anything useful there, so she headed to the basement. It had been spared from the fire, luckily.

As with the floor above it, the basement housed shelves upon shelves of books of every nature. It was a little daunting for the little pony. She wished Twilight was alive to…was able to tell her where to look. If only that magic hadn’t taken her voice away.

After a few hours of searching, Fluttershy found a useful book. It detailed growing crops in all of the seasons and how to maintain them. She placed it under her wing, waved goodbye to Twilight, and headed for Sweet Apple Acres.

Fields of crops had been placed next to her friend’s farm, mostly for convenience. The Apple family had an assortment of gardening equipment that would put any other farmer to shame. They were used most often when the seasons changed and new seeds had to be planted.

Applejack stood on a hillside overlooking an empty field, her golden mane fluttering in the breeze. Fluttershy had hastily fixed her earth pony friend’s injuries so she could do her farm work. She realized quickly that her friend couldn’t stand up on her own, so she planted a wooden spike in the hill and had attached Applejack to it.

Fluttershy walked up next to her friend and placed the farming book between them. “I got the book like you wanted, Applejack,” she said quietly. “It says how to plant crops in all the seasons.”

The deceased pony continued staring at the field. The pegasus realized her friend was deep in concentration, trying to figure out how best to plant the next harvest. Because spring had come so fast there wasn’t anypony else working the fields yet.

“Oh, um, sorry…I’ll just read what’s here…” the quiet pony opened the book to the spring section. She glanced from Applejack to the book, and then quickly flipped the pages to summer. “Spring, here we are.”

A little voice in her head mumbled, It’s still summer…why is it still summer…it should be winter…

Fluttershy shook her head to clear it. There wasn’t any need for silly thoughts like that. Winter had just come quickly! It was spring, not summer! How could it stay summer when the seasons were handled by the citizens of Equestria?

She spent the rest of the day reading about what she would have to do to plant, grow, and harvest some crops. Her friend Applejack kept silent beside her. It was hard to not strike up a conversation, but her friend looked determined to come up with an idea.

Stuffing the book safely beside her friend, Fluttershy waved goodbye and hurried home. She was excited to see what Angel had cooked for her tonight. Everypony in Ponyville had food stored away in their basements in case of emergencies. It wasn’t a lot, but it would sustain her until the crops grew.

Sustain all of Ponyville, she meant.

A wonderful smell wafted out of her cottage as she approached. Her mouth watered. It occurred to her that she hadn’t eaten anything all day. Which was silly seeing as there was no reason to eat as little as possible because she knew the crops would grow. Just plain silly.

She entered her home and smiled at Angel. He had just finished serving them both a bowl of soup. It had been soup for a few nights in a row now. Fluttershy didn’t mind. Water had started flowing down the dried up riverbeds-…fresh water from the mountains had continued to flow in the pristine river beside her home. She had no idea why she had thought the river was dried up.

It didn’t bother her for long. She nearly pounced on the food at the table. Angel ate his portion in silence, watching her. Fluttershy realized she must have looked un-ladylike, so she sat properly and ate slowly.

“How was your day, Angel?” she asked politely. Her furry friend had kept to himself for the past two months. In fact, he had stopped walking around with her when she had fixed up Twilight’s and Applejack’s injuries. That had never occurred to her before then…

The smile on Angel’s little face seemed forced, but Fluttershy beamed back at him. He had smiled so rarely lately that she would take what she could get. Her previous thought still ran around her head, however.

“Angel, are you jealous because I’ve been spending time with my friends, hmm?” she asked gently. The little rabbit tensed up. His eyes got a little wider. “That’s it, isn’t it?” the pegasus laughed softly, “Silly Angel, they just needed my help is all. After I help Applejack with her crops we can spend a whole day together, how does that sound?”

The smile was gone from Angel’s lips. He nodded slowly and turned all his attention to his soup. Fluttershy continued to smile and finished off hers. She thought about all her friends. They would be all fixed from their hurts and aches soon.

Then they would play together forever.

No noise had awoken her this time. Instead, a feeling of unease had crept into her dreams and forced her back into reality. Again, silence and shadows ruled her room. Her eye’s shot around until she saw what she had felt.

In the darkest shadows stood Angel. He was closer than he had been the previous night. Something glimmered for a second in the darkness behind his back.

“Angel?” Fluttershy called to him, “What is it? Is something wrong?”

The little rabbit just stared at her from the shadows. Whatever was shiny behind him was lowered to the floor and set down. His little hands moved in the dark to form a crude heart with his paws.

Smiling, “Awwww, I love you too sweetie….”

It was difficult to see her little friend in the dark room. He looked like he was shaking.

“Go get into your nice, warm bed, cutie...”

Angel bent and picked up whatever it was he had dropped. As he turned to walk out of the room, Fluttershy noticed little tears shining in the moonlight upon his face. He was gone from the room before she could ask about them. She didn’t give it another thought.

The next morning arrived as beautiful as the last. The pegasus yawned and spread her wings wide. She was somewhat happy that she had never loved flying as much as, say, Rainbow Dash or the other pegasus. It made it easier to use them as storage when pressed against her body.

Fluttershy didn’t pack wire today, however. She took with her only a flower to snack on, a list, and her coin pouch. As she walked out the door she called back to Angel, “I’m off to the store!” Applejack had asked her to pick up some of the supplies mentioned in the book the yellow pony had found.

The road to Ponyville was, as always, deserted. There was no wildlife to speak of. When the meteor had reared its head, every animal near Ponyville had run off. She made a mental note to see if she could find a few birds or small critters to liven up the trails.

After a quick check up on Twilight, Fluttershy entered the general store. The owner was beside the door in a heap of bones and flesh. The pegasus smiled, “Good morning!” He always liked to sleep next to the door. Such an odd pony, she thought.

She tossed a few bits from her purse to the counter, “I’m sorry I’m late on the last I.O.U. I’ll make sure to pay on time next time.” As always, the owner did not respond. Taking his silence as an answer, Fluttershy went to find the items she needed. She dropped the list from her wing and unrolled it on the floor.

“Let’s see…” she spoke to herself. The list wasn’t long and she remembered it clearly, but she wanted to say it out loud before beginning. After double checking it, she took a basket from a nearby shelf with her mouth. She used her front legs to put weed killer, bug killer, and some other supplies into it. She also got the remaining medical supplies from that section of the store. There wasn’t a time she could foresee where she would need things like ipecac, but it wouldn’t hurt to have it.

Once the basket started getting too heavy she decided she was finished. Waving awkwardly goodbye to the store owner, Fluttershy made her way back home. She would have to store what she had bought in her house due to the fact she had moved all the seeds into Applejack’s storages. It didn’t bother her one bit.

In fact, nothing bothered Fluttershy at all. The sun was shining. Her friends were all taking early afternoon naps around town. A large cluster of pegasus were napping together where Cloudsdale had hung in the sky. It was all so peaceful and wonderful and joyous.

Her smiling almost made her drop her basket a few times. It didn’t affect her mood.

Unable to find room in her basement, Fluttershy had no choice but to keep the weed and bug killer upstairs. They were clearly labeled, so it was alright. She put them near the medical cabinet after she stored the rest of her supplies from the store there.

Angel watched her throughout it all. She smiled at him but he just stared back. That was ok. He was probably just hungry. She leaned down and kissed his forehead before heading off to Applejack’s.

It felt like the day had come and gone too quickly to the little yellow pony. She had spent it moving bags of seeds out from storage to the field where she would plant them. Some equipment had to also be moved, but a lot of it had melted. It had taken her a long time to push and shove those away from the remaining, functional stuff.

All the while, Applejack had continued to stare out at the field in thought. Fluttershy couldn’t get a word out of her. That was ok. Her friend just needed time to think.

The pegasus stumbled home on tired legs. She wasn’t used to so much manual labor. The only tiresome thing she had done recently was the roof on Angel’s home. Her body was weaker than her friend’s. Hopefully, the earth pony would come out of her thinking and help with the work soon.

She noticed Twilight standing on the bridge leading to her home. Smiling weakly, she waved but didn’t stop to chat. The unicorn didn’t mind.

A wonderful aroma greeted her as she entered her cottage. Her sudden appearance made Angel jump. That was a first. She ignored it. “That smells wonderful,” she said as she took a seat at the table.

The rabbit had stopped stirring the soup pot as she came in. When he realized that, he continued like nothing had happened.

Fluttershy let her thoughts drift around until Angel served her. He always insisted on cooking and serving and cleaning. She had stopped asking if he needed any help as he always refused. Maybe he didn’t want her using up too much water. That had to be it.

Sipping her soup, she thought about all the work she would have to do in the coming weeks. From plowing the fields to planting to watering with what little water she had, it would be hard work.

That’s when she had an excellent idea! What if she helped the rest of her friends with their hurts and aches and asked them to come help her? It was perfect, and they would all be so happy working together! Oh, but she would need more wire and glue and string and-

And seated across the table with no bowl of soup before him, Angel was crying. Fluttershy’s thoughts slammed to a stop. She lifted her head from her finished bowl of soup and asked him, “Angel? What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

His big eyes were locked onto hers. Tears streamed down his face. His little paws on the table were trembling.

“What’s the matter?” Fluttershy asked again, very worried, “Did I eat all the soup? We can make some more, it’s ok, don’t cry…” She looked over to the soup pot and froze.

The bug killer she had bought sat, opened, beside the pot.

She turned slowly back to Angel. All of the soup he had given her was gone, devoured without a thought. The little rabbit’s whole body was trembling now. Little whimpering sounds came from him.

“Angel…no…”

Pain hit her stomach like a freight train. Her tired body doubled over, knocking the pottery bowl off the table to crash into hundreds of pieces. The table itself tilted and she fell to the floor with it. Angel kept his seat, watery eyes never leaving hers.

The pain stole her voice. All her body wanted to do was curl up into a ball. She resisted. From the floor, she stared back into Angel’s eyes. His little paws came up into the crude heart shape.

Fluttershy couldn’t think about anything beyond the pain. Poison wasn’t hard to deal with: just get it out of you. For a lone pony, however, that was a little more complicated. Her hoof wouldn’t fit far enough into her mouth to make her gag. She remembered the ipecac, but knew her body wouldn’t get her to it.

All she could do was stare into the eyes of her killer and gag. From his seat, Angel sobbed.

In a gasping, pained voice, Fluttershy told him, “It’s…ok….Angel…I…love…you…too…”

That was the breaking point for the little rabbit. From behind him he revealed the ipecac. Tossing it to her, he ran from the cottage as fast as he could.

The bottle landed a foot short of her. Summoning up every ounce of willpower she had, she crawled towards it until she could roll it to her mouth. She used her hooves to keep it steady while she unscrewed the top with her teeth. Open and spilling everywhere, she swigged a mouthful of it down.

It was an agonizing ten seconds until she puked. When she couldn’t heave up any more, she passed out in the mess of vomit, shattered pottery, and tears.

Sunlight dried the mess she was laying in and forced her awake. Standing was a challenge she barely overcame. Her legs wobbled under her and she stumbled to where Angel kept the water stored. It was a large barrel with a lid too big for it. She knocked the lid off and guzzled down the clear liquid inside.

Her stomach made her stop several times, but she started to feel alright after a few drinks. The water inside had turned colorful from her dirty face. It wouldn’t be safe to drink anymore. Angel wouldn’t be happy with her.

Angel.

Fluttershy’s eyes darted around the room in search of her furry friend. He was nowhere to be found. She recalled him running from the cottage. The little home she had built for him beside her cottage was where he must have gone.

Stumbling along, she exited her home and went towards where he had his. It wasn’t far, but in her condition, the journey felt like miles. Throat raw, she called ahead of her, “Angel? It’s ok, sweetie…I know you didn’t mean to hurt me…you just didn’t see the label…it’s ok…”

Inside Angel’s home was nothing but darkness. The sun was behind it, forcing shadows in. Fluttershy kept putting one hoof in front of the other until she collapsed at the bottom of the ramp outside the little home. “Come on out, Angel…I’m not mad…I love you…”

No sound emitted from the small home.

With little strength remaining, she started to crawl up the ramp. “It’s ok, Angel…it’s ok…” She was smiling. It was ok. Angel wouldn’t hurt her. He had just been confused about the ingredients, the silly little rabbit. “We can spend…all day together…if you want to-“

She reached the top of the ramp and peered inside. Angel swung silently by a rope tied around the ceiling rafters. His little head hung awkwardly to one side. The fur under the noose around his neck was bruised. His face was away from her.

Fluttershy could never recall how long she laid there, staring at the last living friend she ever had. All she remembered was that when she came out of her stupor, she charged into the small home. The small doorway didn’t stop her. Wood cracked and the ceiling, recently rebuilt, fell apart on top of her. None of it fazed her.

The beam holding Angel suspended cracked and released him. He fell. She pounced on him. Her forehead went to his. Her eyes stared into his half-closed lids. Light peeped through the new cracks and holes and fully revealed his death to her.

One thought kept nagging at her: Why? Why had he killed himself? Because he didn’t want to live like this. Why had he tried to poison her? Because he didn’t want her to live like this. Why had the meteor come? Why was everpony dead? Why was she alive?

How could he leave her all alone?

Her body shook. She grabbed him and hugged him tight as she cried her heart out. This wasn’t how things were supposed to be, she thought. This didn’t happen here in Equestria, the land of magic and wonder and friendship and love…

This never happened here…

This didn’t happen here…

Slowly, slowly, she moved Angel away from her. Her body stopped shaking. Her eyes stopped crying. Her mind focused completely.

This never happened.

Smiling, Fluttershy sat Angel down. He pouted up at her, upset about being woken up, most likely. The pegasus blushed and said, “Oh, I’m sorry, Angel, but your new scarf is just so cute!”

A thought occurred to her suddenly, “Twilight would love to see it!” She took him by his scarf and burst out of the ruins of his home. It would need to be rebuilt, but that was ok. It would be a labor of love.

Angel wiggled but let himself be carried. Twilight was already standing on the bridge outside Fluttershy’s home when she came out. Still stumbling but not giving two bits, the pegasus made her way to her friend. She placed Angel down next to her friend.

“Look, Twilight!” she said excitedly, “Angel made this scarf all by himself!”

Her friend smiled at her but did nothing else. Fluttershy’s eye twitched. She reached a front hoof up and moved the wire around her friend’s jaw.

In her best Twilight Sparkle impression, Fluttershy said, “It looks beautiful!”

Gasping, the pegasus said, “Twilight, you can talk again!”

Giving her a funny look, the unicorn said, “Well of course I can! And Applejack told me she was looking for you, by the way.”

Fluttershy remembered she had promised Applejack she would keep helping her. Angel’s pretty scarf had distracted her. After petting her friend on the head, and a few “I’m sorry”’s to Twilight, the pegasus rushed off.

She had a lot of work to get done that day, no matter how tired she was.

The day’s turned into weeks and still Angel wouldn’t smile. His face constantly sagged in a sad little frown. He wouldn’t eat either, but that didn’t bother Fluttershy one bit. No pony ate in Ponyville except her anymore. It was a thought she had tossed away and forgotten about. It was just a fact of life now.

She had kept the barrel of dirty water for the crops, but there was still some left over. One night, an idea struck her. She took Angel, who fussed the whole time, and put him in barrel.

“I know what’ll make you smile,” she said as she brought the cheese grater down to his face, “A nice bath! I’ll scrub you nice and clean!”

It was difficult, at first, to look past it all as the water turned red, as bits of Angel floated away, as she worked the grater into his flesh.

But soon, a smile began to form on Angel’s little lips. She scrubbed and scrubbed until he was smiling as much as her other friends did. Every day, everypony smiled. And every day, she helped more and more ponies with their injuries so they could smile too.

Fluttershy bent into the barrel and kissed Angel’s forehead, “I love you.”

His smile showed all his little teeth.

Chapter 2 - Whistle While You Work

Zero years, four months after meteor...

Every morning the very first thing she saw was a smile.

It was important to Fluttershy that she see Angel right when she woke up. Some part of her deep inside demanded it. And so, every night, before she went to sleep, she positioned him sitting in the center of her room, facing her. And every morning, when she woke up, she would see him.

His smile made her smile. Slipping out of bed, she walked over and kissed his little forehead, “Good morning, Angel! Did you sleep well?”

Empty eye sockets stared up at her. Her hoof nudged his head ever so slightly in a nod. Happily, she said, “That’s so good to hear. I slept well too!”

Moving gently, she rotated Angel’s arms up towards her. “Oh?” she asked, “Want to come with me today? Hmm…”

Fluttershy scanned her room. It hadn’t been big to begin with, but all the supplies she had packed into it made it downright tiny. Spools of wire were stacked neatly in one corner. Glue and string lay in small piles beside them. On the opposite side of the room were stacks of farming books she had found in Twilight’s library. Beside them were papers and quills for notes. Crumpled up pieces of paper littered the area. She’d never been the most legible writer.

A to-do list rushed through her mind. Over the past month she had: plowed the empty field, fixed up a lot of her friends, cleaned out the water barrel and started refilling it, and patched up all the holes in her cottage. The list today was: check up on everypony, ask Applejack a few questions about farming, and start the planting.

Smiling, Fluttershy took Angel up in her front legs and said, “Ok, hunny, today you can come with me!” She took a piece of string and tied Angel to her back. “Don’t let go!”

She skipped down the stairs into the front room of her cottage. The morning sun warmed the room. It all felt so wonderful that she couldn’t help but sing. As she exited, she could see birds chirping along with her song. It didn’t matter that sometimes she couldn’t see or hear them. They were there. They were.

None of her friends greeted her from across the bridge outside her home. That was ok. There was always something going on in Ponyville that demanded their attention. Sometimes they could play, and sometimes not.

But that’s why she had Angel! He always had time for her, even when he was busy. Today, she would show him all the wonderful things she had done around town!

The park was between her home and Ponyville, so she had decided to move a few ponies from town there. They had all wanted to go to the park. They told her. That’s why she helped them walk over there from their homes. They just needed a little help. She loved to help.

A teal boned-…teal furred pony’s hoof was raised in a wave. Lyra, Fluttershy remembered, was her name. Smiling, the pegasus easily waved back. Nothing encumbered her today except Angel. The seeds she would use to start planting were already at the field.

Angel felt weightless on her. The past month had seen a great deal of new muscles grow on the little yellow pony. Moving the plow through the tough soil every other day had made her stronger. It never really came up in her own mind, however. Moving things had just become easier because her friends were helping out more. That was all.

Several other ponies waved and smiled. She thought, maybe, one even called out her name. But it was too quick to catch. Maybe next time.

Looking over her shoulder, Fluttershy saw Angel’s bright smile. He looked so happy to be outside, among his friends. It was contagious. She beamed back at him and resumed her trek.

The first few houses she encountered after the park were homes. Ponies lay down in the morning sun in doorways and against windowsills. A few snuggled against each other cozily. Everypony was happy, but they also needed her help. She made note of every one. Soon, they would all be standing together, loving and sharing and laughing again.

Fluttershy decided to check up on Pinkie Pie first, as Sugar Cube Corner was coming up on her left. The sign outside still lay in the dirt. She frowned at it, but knew the Cakes still needed her help before they could fix their shop. “There just aren’t enough hours in the day, are there, Angel?” she mused before entering.

Pinkie Pie was, as usual, in the middle of playing one of her wacky games. Front legs in the air, Pinkie held up a green pillow. Smiling, Fluttershy said, “Hello, Pinkie Pie. Hello, Gummy!”

The pink pony smiled at her and hugged her little green reptile. When Fluttershy got closer, she said, “Hi, Fluttershy! Gummy and I were just playing a new game. Want to join?”

“Well, ok.” said the pegasus with a small smile. “But I can only play for a little while…”

Pinkie placed Gummy on the floor and pouted, “Aaaaaalright. We’ll play a quick game instead, then!” Fluttershy followed the excited party pony to a corner of the room where a few games were stacked up in their original boxes. Pinkie started looking through a few, so the pegasus just waited near her.

“Oh, this one!” Pinkie said and took out a box with the word “LIFE” written on it.

Fluttershy stared at it a moment. Heat collected inside her gut. It got suddenly slightly harder to breath.

“What’s the matter?” said Pinkie Pie, “This game is super-duper fun! You live out your whole life, and you never die!”

Without a word, the pegasus took the box in her hooves and threw it out the already broken window. Dust kicked up around the windowsill. Pinkie’s empty eye sockets continued to question Fluttershy. Physically shaking, she smiled and said, “This was so much fun, Pinkie Pie, but I have to get going now, I’m sorry…I’ll come by and play again sometime, ok?”

Before her friend could respond, the pegasus turned away. Gummy still sat where Pinkie had put him down. Smiling, Fluttershy gave him a quick kiss on his little pillow forehead before exiting the bakery. Pinkie Pie could play without her today.

She had forever to play with her friends.

The name of the tune she hummed eluded her so she decided to call it “Silly Fillies”. Applejack didn’t hum or sing much while she worked, but that was ok. Planting seeds with her friend was fun anyways.

Fluttershy had-…they had decided to plant a few different kinds of vegetables and flowers. The field wasn’t large, so they chose only what the farming books had said were easiest. Oh, and Applejack had a say, as well.

The pegasus dug a little hole in the dirt and shook out a few seeds from the basket she held in her mouth. A few fell into the hole and she covered it back up. Sometimes she missed, but that was ok. There were a lot of seeds. Applejack had made sure of that. If Fluttershy ever ran out all she had to do was go over to the bags of them she had piled up and refill.

She looked over at Applejack. Her friend looked much better than before and was now able to stand up on her own. She stood on the same hill she had before, overlooking the field. Smiling, Fluttershy waved. A few seeds spilled out of the basket. That was ok.

It was very tedious to plant for hours on end. Eventually, Fluttershy ran out of songs to hum. She tried to make up a few different melodies but none came to mind. Tired, she put down her basket to take a break. Maybe Applejack had something she wanted to talk about...

The climb up the hill brought her by Angel. She had set him down while she worked. “Want to go see Applejack with me?” she asked and returned him to her back. He felt a little heavier because of her tired muscles.

A few months ago, half of this work would have brought her to her knees. Many nights she would return home too tired to even think. But every morning she would get up and work a little harder.

Everypony’s life depended on this harvest.

Applejack didn’t turn her gaze from the field as Fluttershy approached. The pegasus must have been more tired than she thought. For a moment, it looked like Applejack was nothing but bits of skin on dried out bones. “Hello, Applejack,” she called out, “I’m sorry to interrupt, but did you come up with any ideas for watering the plants?”

This had been a topic of debate between the two ponies since they had begun. Applejack insisted that they needed more water for the plants. Fluttershy had convinced her that she had collected enough water from the small amount trickling down the river by her home. The trick was getting that water to the field. But Fluttershy had an idea in mind for that.

After her pegasus friend had moved closer, Applejack responded, “Awlmost…ah just can’t figure out how’ta get that water you’ve got stored up on over here…”

Almost hopping with excitement, Fluttershy said, “Oh, I have an idea, if that’s ok…” Her earth pony friend looked over at her and she continued, “There’s a cart big enough to hold another barrel in your barn. If we pour some water from the one I have at home into one on the cart, we could push it up this hill and water the entire field with a hose!”

Applejack stared at Fluttershy, hair flowing quietly in the wind. It took the pegasus a moment to realize she had put her hoof down. She raised it back up to her friends jaw, “That’s a great idea! I’ll come over tomorrow and we can get to watering!”

Smiling, so happy, “Ooohhh, I’m glad you like it!” Angel almost fell off her back from her excited hopping. She moved him back to a better spot before saying, “I’ll finish up planting today, then we can have all day tomorrow to get the water here!”

Off she went to resume planting. The songs she sung restarted from the beginning of her long list. She kept Angel with her as she worked this time. The feeling of his little arms around her made the work go by quicker.

Another night, another cold meal. Stale bread and spoiling vegetable broth. It had become so normal for her that Fluttershy barely noticed how bland it all tasted.

Her eyes were locked on the barrel of water she had in her home. Outside her door stood Applejack with the cart and empty barrel she would be bringing in the morning. It would be difficult to pour water from one barrel to the other just by tilting it. Maybe this wouldn’t work…

She shook her head. It had to work. Nowhere else in town had she found stored water. Plus, her food supplies where growing stale and moldy. New crops needed to happen, or it would be the end for her. Oh, and all of Ponyville, too.

Maybe if she could use a bucket to move the water from one to the other. Or, maybe, a hose.

Angel sat across the table from her, smiling. He didn’t eat a lot anymore. Sometimes she had to feed him, but lately she didn’t bother. Until his health deteriorated, there wasn’t any need for him to eat anymore.

His smile usually calmed her. Tonight, however, with all the thoughts of food and planting and water rushing around her head, it irritated her. Was he smiling because he thought her plan was stupid? It had taken her so long to come up with it, to move the cart, to find another useable barrel. It was a great plan, Applejack had said so herself. It wasn’t stupid!

The glue holding Angel’s jaw up gave slightly and his mouth slowly opened up. His smile became a mocking grin.

Red, burning sensation erupted inside Fluttershy. Her hooves slammed down on the table.

“IT’S NOT STUPID! IT WILL WORK!”

She didn’t remember hurling the bowl of soup. It was one of her last few ones. She needed those. But there it was, smashing against Angel’s face. Soup spilled all over him and the floor.

The shock of what she had just done turned Fluttershy’s veins to ice. Stiffly, she stumbled down from her chair, around the table, and grabbed Angel. The simple clay bowl hadn’t harmed him, but his jaw hung at an awkward angle.

His little eyes starred up into hers with tears in them. The sight brought on her own tears.

“I…” sniffle, sob, “I’m sorry…I’m sorry…”

She brought him close in a hug and fell sideways to the floor. Tears covered him as she nuzzled him close. Over and over she said the words, “I’m sorry”, hoping he would forgive her.

But, of course, she already knew he would.

“Just a minute!” Fluttershy replied to the knocking she heard at her door. The water barrel had been heavy, but she managed to move it closer to the door before Applejack arrived. Angel would have helped, but was sleeping in. After what happened last night, she decided to let him.

She opened the door to her cottage and smiled at her guest, “Good morning, Applejack. I see you found the cart and barrel. One moment, I’ll get the water.”

Even though everything had been getting easier to lift or push or pull, the full water barrel was still tough for Fluttershy to move. She had it out the door after a few minutes that felt like hours. Huffing, she said, “Ok, let’s get started…”

That’s when she saw the error in her plan. The barrel on the cart was higher than the barrel on the ground. There was no way to move the water from one to the other. She looked to Applejack to ask her what they should do.

Applejack smiled back at her mockingly. Huge eyes regarded her with pity and disdain. The heat began to fill the pegasus’ stomach.

The exertion from moving the barrel was the only thing that kept Fluttershy calm at that moment. Instead of focusing on what she couldn’t do, she looked at her options. A hose wouldn’t work because of the height difference. But a bucket…

Moving as fast as her tired limbs could, Fluttershy found a bucket inside her cottage and brought it back outside. Applejack was smiling cheerily again. She made her pegasus friend smile back, “Here, I’ll fly up and move the water with this!”

Her wings had gone neglected while she had worked the field. It was a trial lifting her heavier, muscled body, but she managed. Little by little, fresh water from her barrel filled the empty one on the cart. When half the water was gone from her barrel she stopped to rest.

While working, it had occurred to her that the field would need a lot of water on a daily basis. That would mean she could either take all the water she had and live off the river for a while, or make several trips with half her water. Her mind went over the pros and cons while she rested.

Achy muscles made the decision for her. She didn’t want to make several trips. If she rationed, she could live off the land while resupplying the water.

Pushing herself to the limit, Fluttershy got as much of the water as she could into the barrel on the cart. A small puddle remained in her own water barrel. “Alright,” she breathed heavily, “That should do it…”

After moving closer to Applejack, her friend said, “That was mighty neighborly of you, Fluttershy. Would you mind helping me bring it up the hill?”

“Wha-?” the pegasus cut herself off. This shouldn’t be a surprise. Of course Applejack needs help pulling the cart up the hill. She really wasn’t that tired, right? This will be easy with the two of them working together. Smiling again, “Of course I can help!”

Fluttershy kept her smile while she helped Applejack with her bridle. The two bridles were evenly spaced apart on the cart so two ponies could pull anything heavy. The pegasus bridled herself, “Ready?”

A nod from the earth pony was her starting bell. Heaving, Fluttershy began to pull. The uneven angle turned the cart slightly but it rolled forward regardless. The yellow pony refused to notice her friend’s immobility. When the cart reached her, it pushed Applejack along.

Over the bridge and through the woods, to the hill above the field they went. While the trip was not so hard in and of itself, it left no room for Fluttershy to regain the strength she lost previously. Applejack smiled at her encouragingly the entire way.

At the bottom of the hill, Fluttershy stopped. It seemed a lot steeper than it had been before. Applejack’s bridle had come off and the sudden stop made her fall over. “Oh!” said the pegasus breathlessly. She helped her friend to her feet and moved her to one side of the path. “Don’t worry,” she said, “You rest, Applejack. I can do the rest from here.”

Something inside her struggled to be heard. Her tired mind dismissed it.

She re-bridled herself and started up the hill. Immediately, she felt the extra resistance the slope provided. Determination drove her forward. The cart started to drag more then roll. It didn’t matter.

Closer and closer the top of the hill came. A smile broke through her grimace of strain. She was going to make it. Nothing would stop her now. Plants would grow, she would live.

She would live.

The bridle snapped.

Of course it did. It was one of the oldest bridles and carts the Apple family had. The only reason it had been spared the meteor’s wrath was because they had had it in the back of the barn, piled under other equipment. She had always known it was a gamble using it.

But knowing something and watching it happen were two totally different things.

Her body turned around even though she didn’t want to see. She screamed. There were no words to it. It came up from her very soul. She wanted to call out for help, wanted someone to stop the cart from rolling back down the hill towards the dead trees along the path. It was an old cart with old wood carrying an old barrel.

It didn’t stand a chance.

Its weight caused it to pick up speed. Fluttershy’s eyes refused to close. Her mind kept seeing different endings. Maybe it would stop. Maybe it wouldn’t break. Maybe the barrel would be fine.

Cart collided with deadwood. It almost seemed to crumple against the tree. The barrel inside was squeezed and exploded. Water drenched the tree, the cart, the ground.

Fluttershy was there in an instant, legs moving under their own command. A glance told her the barrel’s bottom was cracked. Dirt greedily soaked up any water unlucky enough to touch it. The extended summer had brought no rain to quench its thirst.

But it wasn’t summer, it was spring. Of course it was. And the cart was fine, it just needed a little repair. And she would have water again soon for herself and the plants. Applejack and the others would help her. They always did. Don’t cry. Stop crying. Nothing is wrong. She didn’t need food that badly. The seeds tasted fine, they could sustain her. She tried her best. The plan just didn’t work. Don’t cry. No need to cry. Everypony is so happy and nice. Why are you crying?

She collapsed, knees weak, onto the wet ground. Body shaking, soft sobs escaping her lips, she cried as she watched all her water disappear.

“Apple…jack…” she called between sobs to her friend. The earth pony stood her ground and smiled at her. Weakly, the pegasus tried to motion to her with her front legs to come closer. Still, her friend did not move.

Curling up, Fluttershy cried herself to sleep.

Three Days Later...

The shock from losing the water had taken its toll on Fluttershy. For days, she holed up in her room, refusing to see anypony. Angel would hold her while she lay in bed, moping, crying, trying to see the events that had transpired as anything but her own fault. The bunny had no answers for her. Inside, she knew she didn’t want them.

Waking to the dawn of the third day of moping, she had a sudden idea. The water that trickled down the river beside her home had to come from somewhere. There had been no rain to provide it, so a spring must be the source. If she could find that spring and get it to flow more water again…

Angel regarded her days gone smile questioningly.

“Want to go on a trip, Angel?”

Twilight Sparkle carefully unrolled the map, “I remember reading about a spring in the Everfree Forest, but…”

The pegasus pressed closer to look down at the map. It showed Ponyville at the center with the two woods and mountain range surrounding it. To the west lay Everfree Forest. A river ran from Fluttershy’s cottage back into the forest, but disappeared quickly. It had not been mapped to completion.

“Ooohh,” she said, slightly frustrated, “But, you must have read about where it was…”

Smiling, as she always did, the unicorn nodded, “Of course! It’s right here!” Her hoof pointed to a spot deep in the forest. It was in the general direction the river was going before it disappeared.

Fluttershy nodded, “Great! Angel and I will head out there and find it…” She gulped.

“Aren’t you scared?” asked Twilight.

Nervously, “No…no! I’m not…I have to be strong…I have to find that water for everypony…”

The unicorn patted her friend on her shoulder reassuringly, “I believe in you, Fluttershy.”

The pegasus smiled and hugged her friend in thanks.

Humming, Fluttershy packed up the last bits of bread under her wing. Angel was holding up some more for her, but she smiled and said, “Now now, we won’t be gone long, cutie. We’ll find the spring and be back before nightfall.”

She helped Angel put the food he held back before tying him to her back. It had occurred to her that flying would be faster, but then she wouldn’t be able to take supplies or Angel with her. Not wanting to be alone drove every other thought out.

Geared up, the pegasus and her companion walked out of her cottage and started walking along the river outside that afternoon. From her friend’s map she decided that all she would have to do was follow the river’s general direction to find the source. Even if it branched off somewhere she couldn’t go, she knew the area. Twilight had shown her herself. And Twilight was never wrong.

Grassland became forest almost instantly. There was no trail that followed alongside the river, so Fluttershy had to navigate between the stiff, dead trees that were once lush woodland. Summer had been cruel to the forest, halting the regrowth…

Heh, silly.

She brushed against the trunk of one such tree and looked up. The spring had truly done wonders to the beautiful woodland. It was almost impossible to see the sky through the bright green leaves. Birds were absent from the trees, but that was to be expected. Sudden spring meant most of the birds needed time to come back north. They would find an enchanting forest waiting for them.

Everfree Forest had always been a place of mystery to the ponies of Equestria. It was a place that ruled itself, beyond the control of pony magic. Yet, since the meteor had been stopped by Celestia, the Everfree Forest had changed. No longer did it seem scary or uninviting. Perhaps the meteor had changed it to be just like any other forest; within pony control.

Fluttershy didn’t know the answer. All she knew was that Everfree was as happy and carefree a place as anywhere else in Ponyville. It didn't matter why.

And so she lost herself in the beauty and wonder of it as she kept the river beside her. Angel must have been soaking up the scenery as well because he didn’t fuss or fidget once while she walked.

All her cares seemed to melt away under the warm sun over the wonderful woods. She could have sworn a bird started chirping. Right over there! Her hooves took her deeper into the woods in search of it. Was it here? Maybe it flew away…

Angel’s furry paw pointed in a direction. “It went that way?” she asked him and took off.

No matter where she looked, she couldn’t find the bird she heard. But she swore she heard it. And Angel kept pointing her in the right direction, didn’t he? She just wanted to see the bird and play and have fun and…

What was she doing there again?

Hours Later…

The river had been right next to her. She had followed it perfectly. It was that bird, it had led her away. There wasn’t supposed to be anything bad in Everfree Forest anymore. Why had that bird been so mean to her? Why wasn’t Angel pointing in the right direction to home? She just wanted to go home…

A tree loomed out of the darkness. Fluttershy walked face first into it and fell back on her rump with a squeak. It was too dark now to see anything. And it had gotten colder. Summer nights weren’t normally this cold-…

But it was spring.

Fluttershy began to breathe harder. Heat filled her gut and made her shake in the cold air. She wasn’t lost. Of course not. Being lost is scary. Nothing scary every happened anymore. Home was right over…there!

She ran face first into another tree.

The pain brought tears to her eyes. They were cold, making her shiver even more.

“Angel..?” she called to her little friend on her back, “Angel…which was is home, sweetie? Tell me which way I should go…”

No sound came from him. His arms remained motionless against her. One was pointed slightly to her left.

“Left? Is it that way?” she asked but didn’t wait for an answer. Left she went.

She was careful to move slower so she wouldn’t run into any trees. But every creaky limb sent a course of fear through her. Every stone kicked up by the wind to echo across the woods startled her. Her walk became a run. Her run became panicked.

The darkness became a living being and preyed on her mind. All the loss, the hopelessness, the anger, it formed around her in sounds she couldn’t see or stop. All that was left inside her was fear.

Fluttershy had only enough time to wonder where the ground went before it fell away before her.

For the second time that week, Fluttershy found herself alone, curled up, sobbing uncontrollably. This time, however, she was in pain and couldn’t see anything. To top it all off, Angel had come loose and was lost in the darkness somewhere near.

The darkness seemed to creep closer. All the sounds of the night grew louder, pounding on her head. She shut her eyes tight but they wouldn’t go away.

“Giggle…at…the…ghostie…” she sang softly, sobs interrupting the song. The darkness laughed at her its creaky wood laugh. “Go away….go away…” the little pony sobbed.

Two burning red eyes appeared in the darkness. Their light revealed a pony face. Her pony face. The Othershy smiled wickedly and began to approach. Fluttershy just stared, helpless.

A whistling sound halted Othershy. Her eyes looked all around for its source. Fluttershy also looked for the new sound. It wasn’t a bad sound, like the trees and rocks made. It reminded her of her song…

Crawling, no strength left to stand, Fluttershy found Angel in a nearby bush. Wind forced itself through one of his ears and out his eyes. The sound produced was almost a melody.

A smile broke through Fluttershy’s sadness, “Angel, I didn’t know you could whistle…” After a moment to hear the tune he made, she softly began to sing along with him.

It was a song she had never heard before. Her little Angel must have come up with it all on his own to make her happy. He always knew how to make her happy. He loved her. She loved him. She loved everypony. And everypony loved her.

Everything was fine.

Othershy, forgotten, growled in anger. But Fluttershy only had eyes and ears for Angel. With a huff of disappointment, the darkness receded.

The pegasus and the rabbit sang the night away.

Afternoon sunlight revealed the world as Fluttershy awoke. At some point, she and Angel must have fallen asleep. The little rabbit was curled up in her arms. Smiling, she kissed his forehead, “Morning, sleepy head.”

Her stomach growled. Moving stiffly, she took out the food she brought and ate in silence.

Silence…the wind was gone, but there was a noise near her. She got up while chewing and looked past the tree beside her. Angel, close by, gave her courage.

Not far from where she stood was a pool of crystal clear water. Bubbles rose from its center, causing the noise she heard. In the night she must have mistaken it for the wind.

Tears of joy fell from her eyes. “Angel…Angel, look…” she helped the little bunny up onto her back and ran to the pool, aching muscles be damned.

“We’re going to be ok…” she said as she stared into the water, adding her tears to it. Her reflection beamed back at her. Angel, on her back, smiled as well.

“Everypony’s going to be ok…”

Chapter 3 - School Fillies

One year, eight months after meteor...

“Alright, everypony be quiet please, class is about to start.” Cheerilee smiled to her students in the classroom. They all smiled back, and didn’t make a sound.

“Thank you...now, today we have a special guest. She is here to talk about the animals and nature around Ponyville and across Equestria. Please say hello to Fluttershy, class.” The classroom remained silent, but the smiling students reassured the shy pony they were still happy to see her.

The yellow pegasus stepped forward toward the class. She had a bird standing on one of her wings, and her usual assortment glue and of various wires under her other wing. She was always quite nervous speaking in front of so many ponies. Less so today, as these were just fillies, but had she still spent hours beforehand to prepare.

The building was just recently repaired. There were no more holes in the ceilings or exposed burn marks; It was almost back to it’s former glory. Everything was cleaned and polished before the class today. There were nine seats in the classroom, each of them holding a young filly student. Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Scootaloo were sitting in the front row, with the earth pony in the middle. A slight breeze came in from an open window, blowing wind through Fluttershy’s mane.

The pegasus cleared her throat, “Hello girls, thank you for having me here today…so, what would you like to know about, class? Bunnies? Butterflies? Birdies?” Fluttershy smiled. She had many topics planned out, but thought she would let the fillies decide what they wanted to learn about today.

None of the fillies said anything, but kept their eyes locked on her without so much as blinking. They must be very interested…

After a moment of hesitation, the pegasus decided the topic herself. “How about birds, then?” She smiled with uncertainty. All the students smiled back, and to further approve of the subject, even the teacher smiled to Fluttershy

“Well…by the end of autumn all birds fly south to stay warm for the winter, because it’s too cold for them in Ponyville. The pegasi of Ponyville fly down and bring them back at the end of winter. Then, the birds find an empty nest to live in for the rest of the year…” The yellow pegasus recited.

Feeling less self-conscious, she began pacing around the classroom. “The nests they live in are also made by ponies. Without ponies, the birds here would have to find another home in Equestria...” She took another step, putting a hoof on a pressure plate placed in the middle of the room. Strings tightened, winding around wheels and pulleys set up around her in an crude contraption. Fluttershy ignored the sound of squeaky machinery and groaning deadwood as her device was put into motion.

Applebloom’s front leg jerked up into the air. She was sitting in her chair at the front of the class, and nearly fell over from the sudden pull on her hoof.

“Yes, Applebloom?” the yellow pony smiled, happy there was an interest. She stepped closer to the filly, and off the pressure plate. The young pony’s leg fell down again to her side, dangling back and forth for a moment before stilling itself by Applebloom’s side.

“What’s that bird on yer’ wing, Miss. Fluttershy?” Appleboom asked politely, turning her head to Fluttershy with a smile.

“Oh, sorry, I should have said before…this is Jay! He’s a blue jay who lives in the nest on top of my cottage.” Fluttershy felt embarrassed. She had planned to introduce her friend to the class before asking what subject to talk about.

“He came up here with the rest of the birds on Winter Wrap-up day, and chose that very nest on my house to live in.” She moved the wing with Jay closer to her and snuggled the small bird. He felt colder then he should have been.

The blue bird chirped happily as he was shown to the classroom. All the fillies smiled, as Fluttershy expected. Blue Jays were her favorite kind of bird, although it was always hard to pick just one. And she was very proud of him, not getting nervous and flying away even in front of all these ponies. Rather, he seemed a little stiff, not even turning his head...

The pony pushed against Jay lovingly, expecting the same from him. However, The bird lost his balance and tumbled over before Fluttershy could do anything about it. She expected him to remain standing, yet he fell over like he wasn’t even trying.

The fragile bird crashed as it hit the floor. His bones broke on impact, flattening the skeleton and bending the essential wires that they were entwined with. Most of the bird was still in one piece, as most of it was held together by glue. It was, however, very malformed. Bones stuck out in all directions, half it’s head was cracked in, and a wing managed to become completely detached.

Fluttershy got down to the floor near her friend, worried. His little accident wasn’t her fault, he had fallen on his own. She stared at Jay with concern, trying to judge exactly how hurt he was. She reached a hoof towards him, nudged at the lying bird, rolling him over. After his head twisted unnaturally past the rest of the body, the severity of the damage became apparent to her.

Putting Jay back together was hopeless, the bones were far too small and much too fragile. And the glue would be impossible to remove from the skeleton without damaging it further.

This happened a lot with the smaller animals...they just broke so easily. The yellow pegasus scooped up the bird in her mouth and walked to the window.

She could taste the dead creature, despite trying to avoid having her tongue brush against it. The bones, the glues, the feathers...it was a taste she had become painfully familiar with by now.

The pony lifted open the window screen with her front hooves, pulled her head back to the side, then swung the other direction, letting Jay free from her grasp and sending him out the window. The corpse hit the ground just outside of the school’s wall.

Fluttershy was content with the results, closing her eyes and imagining Jay flying freely away. Spreading his wings out, and shooting upward and onward into the sky until he was far out of sight...

The day dream broke suddenly, as the pony felt something dark gathering itself in the corner of the classroom. Shadows. To tell her lies, as they always tried.

She would not allow it. She knew what was real; nothing bad ever happens in Ponyville; in Equestria. She refused to look to the shadows, and faced away in objection to them. Though she wouldn’t admit why, Fluttershy felt tears gather in her eyes.

“No. He flew, he flew away...” The pegasus muttered to the shade. Her legs were shaking, and she thought as hard as she could about the blue bird soaring through the skies.

Flying, freely without distress or care...and then falling down suddenly, back to earth.

“No! He’s living somewhere else, Jay is perfectly fine! He’s happy and free!” She shouted. Her eyes were shut tightly, to keep this reality away.

The darkness gave in, and scattered away from the classroom.

Fluttershy opened her eyes. The view out the window was beautiful. So calm and relaxing...but now was not the time, she needed to focus. She still had to speak to the class.

She closed the window and walked back to the front of the classroom. “Well, I hope you all liked Jay while he was here...sorry he had to go so soon...how about we talk about something else, class?” The yellow pony returned to the front of the class, looking to her students. Her hoof again reached the button on the floor, and Applebloom’s hoof was yet again raised into the air.

“Yes, Applebloom?” Fluttershy smiled to the filly, and she smiled back. She walked towards the pony, and filly’s leg dropped again.

She placed her hoof under the jaw of the filly, moving it up and down as her speech dictated. “How about...bunnies, miss Fluttershy?” The pegasus said, in a terribly skewed and accented voice to resemble the filly’s. The young pony smiled to her.

“That sounds like a wonderful idea, Applebloom...”

The class was going well so far. Fluttershy spoke on various subjects and the classroom listened to her. Applebloom asked all the questions, of course. That filly seemed to have a great interest in learning new subjects. It was recess now, and all the school fillies were outside playing. It took Fluttershy far too long to take them out there, having to move each one off of their seat, and take them outside... No. that’s not what happened at all. They could move themselves outside. Of course, how silly to think she had to move all of them.

She stepped back inside, looking around the class to make sure she didn’t forget anypony. All the chairs were empty, all that was left was Cheerilee. She smiled to Fluttershy, and the pegasus smiled back, going outside to keep an eye on the fillies.

All the young ponies were playing happily on the playground. One was on a slide, suspended half way down by a rope tied to her and the railing. Another was on the swing-set, her wings held together with wires, and strung through the ropes that held the seat up, keeping the young pegasus from falling off.

On the other end of the playground, near the schoolhouse, stood three more familiar ponies of the class. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom.

“Come on, we’re not going to get our cutie marks sitting around in class all day...we should be at the clubhouse! There has to be something we haven’t tried yet,” Scootaloo stood in front of Fluttershy, talking to her friends and clearly not noticing the pegasus behind her.

“Girls? Um, I really don’t think you should do that...your teacher and I put a lot of effort into today’s lesson. It would be a shame for you to miss it...” the older pegasus said, concerned for the ponies.

Scootaloo’s head turned to look at the yellow pony.

“I mean, you’ll have plenty of time to get your cutie marks after class...why don’t you play something safe around here until class starts again?” Fluttershy reasoned.

The purple maned filly turned her head forward again, looking down and giving up already. “Alright...there’s got to be something fun around here, even if it doesn’t lead to us getting our cutie marks.

Good with animals, good with kids...

Fluttershy walked over to Sweetie Belle, deciding she needed a say in the conversation.

“Hmm...how about we pass that ball around until class starts? I don’t see anything else to do that we all can do together.” The unicorn said.

“That sounds like a wonderful idea, Sweetie Belle.” Fluttershy commented.

The pegasus walked to the red and white beach ball in the corner of the play ground, picked it up with her free wing and took it back to her friends.

Fluttershy stood next to Sweetie Belle and tossed the large ball to Applebloom. It went past the small pony and rolled to the other end of the playground, much farther then expected.

Nevertheless, the little earth pony galloped over to get it. The ball had already lost air on impact. It was not in very good condition, but it was the best one Fluttershy could find- no, it was the best one the school had.

Applebloom hit the ball as she ran back to her friends, kicking the ball every few steps as she caught up with it until it was in near enough to the other fillies.

'Sweetie Belle, Ah didn't know ya' could kick so hard...just try ta' be a little softer next time, alright?” Applebloom commented, hypocritically getting into position to kick the beach ball herself.

She aimed for Scootaloo, who was standing in front of the fence of the playground. She didn’t do anything to prepare for her turn, just stood still. How odd.

The beach ball launched towards its target, but was sent with much more force then intended. Instead it flew over the small pegasus and away from the school, eventually into a nearby tree.

“Oh, my...here, don’t worry girls, I'll bring it back for you...” Fluttershy offered, already on her way to get the toy. As she was passing Scootaloo, however, she realized just how unlikely the scene was.

Fluttershy put a hoof under the young pegasus’ jaw. “Don’t worry about it, Fluttershy, we can get it! Maybe we could get...some kind of toy rescuing cutie mark!” The filly announced with a smile. It seemed a bit out of character for her, but it was the best Fluttershy could come up with at the time.

She moved them all, one by one, under the tree that held their toy. It was barely visible from where they stood, so high was it in the thick branches.

“Now, please girls, I don’t want you to get hurt...I’ll just bring this right back down for you.” Fluttershy dropped her wires and glue from her wing so she could fly again.

The pegasus elevated up into the branches, the ball coming into view. It was only a push or two away form being free from the branches. However, Fluttershy still felt unsure about the cutie mark crusaders letting her do this herself. How unlike them.

The pegasus dropped down again to them, deciding how they would act in this situation...

“Cutie mark crusader Toy Rescuers! Yay!” They shouted in unison.

Fluttershy grabbed all three fillies in her front hooves, a task much harder to do then she anicipated. However, they were all very light. Fluttershy ignored this and flew up above the tree.

There wouldn’t be an easy way to get them to “climb” it. This was the best she could do for them with what little time remained in recess. They just needed to get into the tree, get the ball, and get it out. It was simple.

Fluttershy dropped the ponies into the branches.

“Now girls, I told you not to. There are lots of branches in there, it’s easy for somepony to get stuck or hurt in them...” She said as she hovered down to the tree.

When she looked through the first layer of leaves, she was left speechless. There were bones caught up in nearly every branch, hooked on by wires that became loose. There were clearly three skulls, but the rest of the skeletons were indistinguishable other then their tinted color. Some bones fell through and were left at the base of the tree, but most were entangled with the tree.

Fluttershy was horrified.

This will take forever to clean up...

All night was spent picking bones from the tree. Finishing in time for class that day was completely unreasonable. She arranged the bones on the ground closer to the school house in three piles based on the color, which matched the color of the fur that once covered them.

She kept looking for bones through the darkness until she was convinced they were all out of the tree, and then she sat beside the piles she had. She didn’t know where to begin putting anything back together. Many of the smaller bones were broken; she never had to repair somepony from scratch before. The task seemed impossible...

Oh, Fluttershy. What have you done.

Shadows darkened her mind again. Coming to make her realize her actions, and make her see what she was looking at, what she had done...

“No! I can still fix them! They will be fine!” she closed her eyes again, and shouted at the unwanted thoughts. Her eyes were watering again, unable to keep her emotions at bay.

She opened her eyes for a moment, and looked to the piles she had set next to her. It really was hopeless. She wasn’t nearly familiar enough with the bones to make something with what she had. Some of the bones even snapped, and she was sure at least three were missing...

Shadows stirred nearby, but Fluttershy continued to resist. This didn’t happen. Things like this just don’t happen...

The yellow pegasus stomped on the shovel with her hoof, pushing it further into the dirt. She lifted the load of dirt, and tossed it behind her. It was fairly early in the morning at this point. She had been digging here for hours.

“Good bye, Sweetie Belle. I’m so glad you could come by one last time before leaving. You’ve grown up so much, haven’t you? Remember when you used to be shy about other ponies hearing you sing? And now you’re singing for a living, on a stage with hundreds, or even thousands of ponies wanting to hear your voice. You’re even moving to Manehattan to pursue your dreams...well, be sure to visit us whenever you can. I’m so proud of you...”

She threw a shovel full of bones into the hole.

“You’ve grown up so much, Scootaloo. Do you remember when your wings were too small for you to even fly...? Anyway, thank you for saying good bye one last time. I hope you are well in Fillydelphia. I always knew you would leave us, you love to use that scooter of yours and you go so fast, you couldn’t be held up in one town all your life. I understand. Do come by again to visit soon. Good bye, Scootaloo.”

Another pile of bones was pushed into the hole. Tears were rolling down Fluttershy’s face. Saying goodbye was so hard for her; she wasn’t used to it. She cared for these ponies so much, she never wanted them to leave. She wanted to play and take care of them forever...but she was still happy for them. They were leaving Ponyville and making lives of their own; happy, successful lives.

“Oh, Applebloom. I’m going to miss you so much. Everypony is going to miss you. But we’re so happy. You decided to be a part of the Apple Family business. Maybe not the way you thought you would when you were younger, but you’re happy now. And so you’re leaving awhile to make a business deal with ponies in Appaloosa? Good luck, and do come back soon...I’ll miss you, Applebloom...”

The final skeleton dropped into the grave.

The pegasus sobbed. Sunlight unfittingly cast itself onto the scene. Fluttershy covered the rest of the hole with dirt, forcing herself to forget about it completely.

“See? Nothing bad happened. Everything is fine, and you can’t prove me wrong. All fillies grow up one day, and it’s always sooner then you would expect...” She tossed the shovel aside, and wiped her tears away.

The Othershy looked at the overturned dirt, and then to Fluttershy. It slowly turned and walked away from the pitiful scene.

Chapter 4 - Rainbow Crash

One year, nine months after meteor...

It was usually sunny in Ponyville, as the clouds and weather were controlled by the pegasi there. It was the preferred weather of everypony in Ponyville, and it was Fluttershy’s favorite by far.

The only time it wasn’t sunny during the day was when rain was scheduled, giving all the ponies fair warning to stay indoors. Clouds were moved by the wind, naturally, but that’s not how it worked in Equestria. With pegasi that can move clouds easily, all of it was organized and planned. Almost all of Equestria had appointed certain pegasi to move the clouds and be Weather Control for areas and towns.

Even though Fluttershy was a pegasus, she wasn’t much for flying. She wasn’t in charge of any of the weather in Ponyville, and never had to move or adjust a cloud in her life. That was okay though, she knew there were plenty of other ponies that took care of the clouds, and she trusted them with their jobs.

Rainbow Dash was one of these ponies, in charge of Ponyville’s clouds and weather. And she was very good at it, able to clear the entire sky within seconds, keeping Ponyville sunny and warm for all the other ponies. However, she was also quite a slacker; often waiting as long as possible before starting any work she was given.

But Fluttershy didn’t think of that particular trait very often, she always remembered it being sunny in Ponyville. She would never want to imagine Rainbow Dash being lazy…

However, the dark clouds built up above her village heavily today. Everything was just a little darker than it should be. So unwelcoming, so unhappy. It made it quite difficult to excuse or overlook.

The yellow pegasus walked into the market, browsing various vegetable and fruit stalls as she passed. She smiled to the vendors, who would always smile back to her. However, she did come here for a reason, and couldn’t stay and talk with any of them.

Shortly after her entrance to the market, the pegasus found Rainbow Dash lying on a small cloud, hooves behind her head, relaxing. Fluttershy planned her every word before moving forward to confront the napping pegasus. She never liked bringing up issues like this, but it had been dark and dreary around Ponyville for far too long.

Fluttershy stopped when she found herself at the edge of a small crowd. Not wanting to intrude, she carefully stepped between the ponies until she realized they were there for the same reason she was: to speak with Rainbow Dash. They were all positioned perfectly for the confrontation.

Rarity stood in front, leading the small mob. Her head, and the heads of all the other ponies, were facing upward to the cloud Rainbow Dash rested on.

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity shouted as Fluttershy stood next to her, “There are simply far too many clouds today, it is most unpleasant. How am I supposed to keep my hair in good shape with all this humidity? Isn’t it your job to keep the sky clear for us grounded ponies?”

Fluttershy flew next to the blue pegasus in the clouds.

She placed a hoof under Raindow Dash’s jawbone, as she did whenever other ponies talked. However, this time she paused; she didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know what Rainbow Dash would say in this situation.

Fluttershy looked down to the small mob, all watching and waiting in silence. This shouldn’t happen, this didn’t make sense…

The living pegasus looked to her friend, now waiting on her. She didn’t understand; why wouldn’t she say anything? Why would she remain silent, with all those ponies waiting for her to speak?

“Say something…” She whimpered, looking to her friend, worried and confused. She moved her hoof away from under the jaw, shaking in uncertainty.

The ponies below waited and glared, staring at Fluttershy. Rarity, and five ponies she was with, forming their mob against Rainbow Dash.

A familiar shadow stepped into the crowd, now also staring in judgment.

The yellow pegasus turned back to Rainbow Dash, putting both hooves onto the skeleton’s shoulders.

“Say something! Say anything!” Fluttershy shouted in panic, shaking the pegasus’ bones. They rattled as they moved, but otherwise the skeleton was silent.

Othershy stood closer now, on a cloud in front of the frightened pegasus. Its judgmental red eyes stared into Fluttershy’s panicking ones, and she tried very hard not to stare back.

“…This…isn’t fair! Don’t look at me like that! It’s not my fault!” Fluttershy pleaded. She let go of the light blue skeleton, and it fell onto its side on the small cloud. She was panicking; she didn’t know what to do or say to make it better, to make the shadow go away.

She put her hooves over her eyes, and lay down on the cloud. She sobbed quietly, tears filling her eyes.

Why…why wouldn’t Rainbow Dash say anything…?

Othershy stood above her on a closer cloud, right next to Fluttershy. She smiled mockingly at the quivering pony, showing a mouthful of jagged teeth. The shadow stepped onto her cloud and moved over Rainbow Dash. The yellow pegasus cried, lacking the courage to object.

With a condescending smirk, Othershy kicked the skeleton; kicked Fluttershy’s friend. Half of the skeletal corpse hung over the edge of the cloud. Fluttershy uncovered her eyes, knowing what was going to happen next.

Othershy kicked Rainbow Dash again, making her fall off of the cloud. She fell to earth, unable to move her wings and save herself.

Fluttershy leaped off the cloud to her friend as fast as her wings would allow, and caught Rainbow Dash’s hoof just before she hit the ground.

The yellow pegasus reached her front leg around her friend, and flew her upward, to a cloud lower than the one which held Othershy. The shadow was no longer smiling.

She moved her other hoof under the skeleton’s jawbone, and looked to the crowd below her.

“I’m not being lazy, -I’m just…I was just letting the clouds gather. For a trick.” The blue pegasus claimed. Fluttershy didn’t know what she was getting to, or what trick could possibly include so many clouds, but she knew Rainbow Dash needed to say something.

The crowd didn’t reply, so Fluttershy did. She knew she had to keep the conversation going. There couldn’t be silence; ponies don’t just stop talking…

“Oh, what trick is it, Rainbow Dash? I don’t think I remember you telling me about one before.” She smiled. Othershy stayed where she was,waiting for the pegasus to make a mistake.

“It’s very hard to do…this trick, and it will clear all the clouds in Ponyville! I’ve been very busy practicing it lately,” Rainbow Dash explained.

“What trick is it, Rainbow? I’d be very interested to see it.” Fluttershy replied.

She reached another dead end. She didn’t know what Rainbow Dash would say, she had never been in this situation before…Fluttershy went over what the blue pegasus said, trying to think of a trick. The yellow pony was never as interested in doing tricks as Rainbow Dash and she didn’t know where to begin when coming up with a new one…

Othershy smiled again, seeing her failure to uphold a conversation. And Fluttershy tried to think faster, but couldn’t focus. She had to reply, Rainbow Dash needed to say something.

“…A Sonic Rainboom, of course!” Rainbow Dash boasted. Othershy’s smile faded, but rest of the ponies smiled happily for Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. This worked. Everything was going to work perfectly.

The day passed by and, for Fluttershy, it was full of preparations and setting up for the event. Today, Rainbow Dash will fly high into the air above the clouds and out of sight, and then plummet down again, all to perform a Sonic Rainboom.

Half the ponies in Ponyville were gathered around the brave pegasus, who stood in the town square. It made sense; it’s only been done twice in history. Everypony wanted to see something so amazing, especially right here in their own town.

Fluttershy stood next to Rainbow Dash to encourage her and cheer her on, just like back in Cloudsdale. This time, however, she was going to fly up with her, as high as she could, and cheer her on until she attempted the Sonic Rainboom. It would explode in a ring of vibrant colors, amazing everypony for miles, and clear every cloud above Ponyville. It was perfect.

“Are you ready, Rainbow Dash? I’ll fly with you whenever you say,” Fluttershy just finished a fastening for them; strong rope attached to a harness Fluttershy wore, and then tied around the blue-tinted skeleton. For the trick, Rainbow Dash’s wings were extended, and extra wires were used almost everywhere on her as reinforcement to keep anything from falling off while she was flying. Fluttershy never had to fly a pony very high before, never above the clouds, so she was being quite careful, wanting to make sure everything would go well.

“Of course, I’ve been ready for ages. I’ve done this twice before; it’ll be easy to do it again. Are you ready, though?” The pegasus smiled to Fluttershy.

“Yes, I’ve been flying around a lot today to practice. Should we take off together?”

“Alright.” Rainbow Dash positioned herself for take-off. “Five…four…three…two…one!”

Fluttershy jumped up and began moving her wings to take flight. She flew quickly into the sky, not nearly as fast as Rainbow Dash could, but fast enough to break through the lower clouds as she hit them.

Fluttershy felt a tug on her harness as the blue skeleton no longer stood on the ground, and became a weight for Fluttershy. She ignored this, and started flying upward farther, assuming Rainbow would pass her.

The pegasus looked around for her friend, but didn’t see her. She looked down, and saw that she had just starting flying behind her. She was spinning around, out of control. But Fluttershy allowed herself to overlook that. Rainbow Dash was an excellent flier. She would never fly so erratically.

“Come on Rainbow Dash, you don’t need to slow down for me. You can do it, Rainbow!” She looked down and smiled to her friend. She smiled back, but didn’t reply. She must be very focused.

They both continued to fly upward without speaking a word. There wasn’t much to say, but Fluttershy was getting tired as she flew, and wanted to talk to somepony while she worked. It was getting colder as they flew higher, and when Fluttershy looked down, it became harder and harder to see the ponies on the ground as they got further away.

They passed more and more clouds every minute, until it was impossible to see the ground through them. But they kept flying higher; Rainbow Dash needed to get higher for a Sonic Rainboom to work. Fluttershy didn’t even think about her being ahead of Rainbow Dash anymore. After this much work, all she could think about was flying higher.

Her wings were sore, but she knew they weren’t high enough. Even when she couldn’t see below them, she needed to get higher, Rainbow Dash needed to get higher. She said she would, and she’s a pony of her word.

“Come on, Rainbow…you can do it, you’re going to do it perfectly...” She encouraged, barely able to say that between her frequent deep breaths.

“Just a little higher…then you can make a Sonic…Rainboom!” She gasped. Fluttershy never flew this high before, even when she was in Cloudsdale; she stayed on the clouds as much as possible. She was stronger now, but the air was growing thin, and she had to drag another pony with her.

After a few more minutes of non-stop flying, Fluttershy finally had enough, almost completely unable to continue. She looked down to the hanging pegasus. The smile on Rainbow Dash’s face told the yellow pony she was ready to fly down.

“Okay Rainbow…you’ve been practicing long enough, you can…you can do this!” She bit at the clasp on her harness, and let the rope slide out. The weight dropped, and Fluttershy flew easier without it.

Rainbow dash spread her wings and dove straight downward to perform her beautiful, signature trick. Fluttershy knew she could do it. She knew it was going to be fine, so she didn’t rush down to her. Instead she kept at whatever pace she felt comfortable and safe with, which consisted of her using her wings to slow her fall.

There was a loud noise, echoing even to Fluttershy. She smiled, although it didn’t sound as she remembered.

She did it. The pegasus thought. She made another Sonic Rainboom. And I don’t mind not seeing it. I’m just happy she succeeded.

The happy pegasus dropped faster, using her wings every few seconds to slow her fall, and broke through the clouds beneath her. She was so happy that she was able to fly all the way up with her, to cheer her on.

She went through the last layer of clouds, and looked at all of Ponyville. Except, there were still more clouds…no, they were gone when Rainbow Dash did a Sonic Rainboom…there just couldn’t be clouds here.

She flew closer to the ground, ignoring every cloud she saw. She couldn’t wait to see all the happy ponies, and to see her pegasus friend again. She couldn’t be lazy, no other pony ever did a Sonic Rainboom; it took a lot of work and practice. No one would ever call Rainbow Dash lazy again. And it made Fluttershy so happy.

The pegasus reached the earth, and looked around for her friend. There were many ponies outside, all smiling and happy, but she didn’t see Rainbow Dash anywhere.

She walked around Ponyville, looking into houses, looking through crowds, looking to the sky, if she was still flying. But Rainbow Dash couldn’t be found. Fluttershy didn’t want to ask anypony, even though they would have seen her, she didn’t want to intrude…

Fluttershy kept walking around Ponyville, trotting faster and looking all around her for the missing pegasus. She cheered her on to do it, the least she wanted to do now was say congratulations to her…

Othershy stood ahead of her, in an area clear of the crowds of ponies, and was staring right at Fluttershy, unmoving.

What did she want? Why would she still be here? Everything went perfectly fine..

The shadow looked down, and put a hoof to the dirt, drawing a circle. It looked up, and pointed to it, looking at Fluttershy. Then took a step back, walking away from the mark.

When she was far enough away, Fluttershy walked to the mark, curious and not quite thinking about what the result would be.

Within the circle, a blue tinted bone rested on the dirt. Half an equine skull stared up to Fluttershy, who was forced to register the evidence.

“Oh, no, I’m so sorry Rainbow Dash, but don’t worry; I’ll fix you, I’ll put you all back together again...” She couldn't just wait, this was urgent Her friend needed her help, and she wouldn’t rest until Rainbow Dash was all better.

Fluttershy ran back to her cottage, picking up a set of saddle bags. The smile on Angel’s face helped, as it always did. She told him it would be okay, and left again to return to Ponyville.

She picked up the piece of skull from earlier, and put it into the bag. She walked around Ponyville more, on the lookout for more bone fragments. Sure enough, now that she was looking, they were everywhere, all across Ponyville.

It took her three days to fill her saddlebags, and she hardly slept each night. This was urgent, she made sure to keep all her closest friends in the best possible condition; brushing their manes, cleaning their teeth, making sure they stayed in one piece. Her friends were the most important thing in Ponyville. She couldn’t leave Rainbow Dash like this.

The very tired Fluttershy walked into her home. Angel welcomed her with a smile, she smiled back, but she knew she had to work right now. She took out every bone from her bags, placing them onto the rug. She was very familiar with the equine skeleton now, she put so many ponies back together; she knew this would work.

It had to work. She couldn’t go on without all her friends with her…

It had been weeks since Rainbow Dash fell from the sky. Her skeleton now stood in the middle of Fluttershy’s living room, coming closer to full repair. Fluttershy worked all day and night since the accident to fix her friend, and she was still sorry for it.

There were still missing bones after her first search. She found some shards as far as the Everfree forest, and some in the river. She needed to find them all, Rainbow Dash needed to come back. It wouldn’t be the same without her. She even tried replacing some bones or parts of bones with cut wood or carved sticks, fitting in place perfectly with the skeleton, but it was never the same. It would never be the same.

Fluttershy opened her door, trotting in and humming a beautiful tune. She took off the saddle bags and opened them, searching for her newest treasures.

“Oh Rainbow Dash, you will never guess what I found by Rarity’s house today!” She took the bone from her bag, excited to show it to her friend.

“The rest of your jaw! Isn’t that just wonderful, Rainbow? Now you can smile again, just like you used to.”

She put the jaw on the rug, and smiled at the other pegasus. She knew this day would come, so she didn’t fully attach the first part of the jaw she found to the rest of the skull; it was easily removed for repair and correction.

Wires were used to attach two bones to each other, and to reinforce them to keep them in place. When it came to broken and fractured bones, there was special glue used for crafts that worked wonderfully with bones. Fluttershy was very good at making broken bones look seamless with the help of this glue.

The full jaw was on the floor, in two pieces. Holding the glue in her mouth and holding the bones in her hooves, Fluttershy carefully glued them together. She had to hold them tightly for a few minutes before letting go, so the glue could dry.

After she cleaned it up with a wet wash cloth, the jaw was in one piece again. This was really wonderful for Fluttershy, as now she almost had the entire head complete, save a few shards of the skull. But it was still a milestone for her.

Fluttershy lifted the jaw, balancing it on the bottom of her hoof, and took it to her friend. Standing on her back legs, she used her front hooves to carefully place the bone with the rest of the skull.

She strung a wire through the bones with her teeth, and let go. The jaw was lopsided, being only attached on one side, and was hanging down without any added support. Fluttershy took another wire from her bag, picking it up with her teeth and looking back to the pegasus.

“Why…”

The cyan pegasus stared into Fluttershy as she adjusted her jaw, which she now let drop again. She stood still, looking at the skeleton, caught off-guard by what it said. It shouldn’t talk yet. It was too early; Rainbow Dash wasn’t put back together yet…

Fluttershy quickly turned and took a wire from her bag, then moved close to the skeleton to fix the jaw.

“Fluttershy… Why did you drop me? Why did you let me go? Why would you-“

The bone was hinged properly, and shut, using an extra wire. One last wire was used to temporarily keep the mouth closed.

“Don’t talk Rainbow, you know you’re still not feeling well. Just sit still and quiet in here until I can put you all back together…”

There was a beautiful, cloudless sky above Ponyville, with the sun shining and casting beams of light across it and all of Equestria. Fluttershy worked all morning to clear the clouds, as she did most mornings now. Over the past few weeks, she practiced and became much better at manipulating the weather, even without having anypony teach her. Of course, she would never credit herself to it. She believed other pegasi were fixing the weather for her, while she was taking care of Rainbow Dash

Not feeling well at all… Fluttershy tried her best over the months she was taking care of her; but too many small bones were broken and too many bones couldn’t be found. No matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t find them all. There was no way Rainbow Dash would be able to fly in her condition.

Fluttershy tightened saddle bags on her, and gave Angel a pat on the head as she left her cottage again. She needed to find the rest of Rainbow Dash’s wings. Her friends were more important to her than anything; she stopped working on any other projects since the accident, dedicating all her time to fixing her friend. Buildings left unrepaired, manes left unbrushed.

Today that would change, she would make progress. Everything needed to be fine, needed to be perfect. Nopony should get sick anymore, or injured anymore, not when she could help them.

Derpy Hooves stood in the center of Ponyville, the same spot Rainbow Dash took off from all those weeks ago. As everypony knows, this gray pegasus was the Mailmare in Ponyville.

However, it’s been a long time since anypony had sent a letter, or received a letter. Fluttershy would never say so out loud, and would never admit to thinking it, but she knew, deep down, that the gray pony that stood in front of her had become useless.

No, no…nopony was useless. Everypony could be made useful.

Fluttershy felt inclined to greet the gray pony. She had been so busy with helping Rainbow Dash recently she didn’t talk to anypony else in a long time.

“Hello. Uh, lovely weather today, isn’t it…?” The yellow pony said, approaching the Mailmare.

“Oh, hello Fluttershy! I didn’t see you there… Yes, it is wonderful today.” She giggled

“That’s alright, Derpy. I was just passing through. What are you up to then?”

“Actually…I was just about to leave. I got another job! I’m moving to Canterlot, to deliver mail for the ponies there. Probably won’t be seeing me again...” The gray pegasus looked up to the beautiful city in the distance with a smile.

“Oh, that’s wonderful! I didn’t know you were leaving, sorry if you said so before…I hope everything works out for you.”

Fluttershy walked next to the gray pony, and started biting at the base of her wings, undoing wires and being careful not to break any of the fragile bones.

“Yes of course, don’t worry. Actually it was kind of sudden, I haven’t told anypony yet. But I am already packed and leaving shortly. Everything will work out.” Derpy smiled straight ahead, as the yellow pony placed the skeletal wings in her saddle bag.

“I’m so happy for you. Can’t you at least stay for a goodbye party? Pinkie always throws the best parties.” Fluttershy started undoing wires on Derpy’s front leg, then tugged on it, taking a large bone away. The gray pony still stood, but was much less balanced without all four legs’ support.

“Oh no, I couldn’t. I should be leaving right now, actually... Tell everypony I said goodbye,” Derpy smiled, and Fluttershy smiled back. It was sad, but in the end, this works out for the better.

Fluttershy put a hoof on Derpy’s shoulder, and another on her head. Fluttershy had to stand on her hind legs, but remained stable. She moved her head forward and bit onto the jawbone of the gray pegasus. She pulled her head back, ripping it the jaw from its hinges.

Piece by piece, bone by bone, Derpy Hooves was placed into Fluttershy’s saddle bags. This was exactly what she needed; with these she could fix Rainbow Dash. She wondered why she hadn’t thought of it sooner.

Chapter 5 - Inside Out

Two years, two months after meteor...

Shafts of golden light speared through the trees, illuminating the dusty trail. Sunset, beautiful sunset, turned the world into a magical place. The clouds overhead glowed as they rolled across the sky. Only one pair of eyes took in their majesty.

Smiling, Fluttershy sat alone on the dusty trail and stared at the clouds. A basket hung from her mouth, empty. Time for herself had become a precious thing these past few weeks. Her friends all vied for her attention on a daily basis. There wasn’t even time to try to clear away the clouds anymore.

The no-longer-little pegasus sighed and stretched her body. No matter how strong she got from all the work she did it would never register to her. She acknowledged that life in Ponyville had become…easier. Everypony went about their day to day lives like clockwork. Sometimes one or two of them would need help getting around and she would assist, but more often than not everything just sort of worked out.

But tomorrow wouldn’t be like every other day. It was hard to keep her mind on other things while Twilight Sparkle’s home was still fresh in her thoughts. Imagining spending the day not with just one of her friends, but with all of them…

Not that, of course, she knew what would happen tomorrow. Fluttershy couldn’t know. And so, with a wistful sigh, she stood up and continued on home.

Perhaps with a little more skip in her step then was warranted.

The cabin door, perpetually unlocked, opened with a loud squeak with a touch of her hoof. Just another thing to oil or fix or reinforce. Fluttershy added it to a mental list that she would convert to paper when she had the chance. Squeaky doors weren’t a part of perfect Ponyville.

Just as she had left him, Angel smiled up at her from the couch. Her perfect little angel. Smiling back at him, she placed her empty basket down by the door and walked over, “Good evening, Angel! Did you have a good day today?”

His eyes lit up as she approached. Fluttershy could just tell he wanted to be picked up and hugged, so that’s exactly what she did. The rabbit had gotten so loving and caring over the past few years. He’d always hold his arms up and want to cuddle and hug. Sometimes he felt like nothing more than bones, but she wouldn’t force him to eat if he didn’t want to.

The thought of food made her stomach growl. It occurred to her that she had skipped lunch. It wasn’t her fault. Time had just gone by so quickly at Twilight’s…

And again her mind drifted to tomorrow’s fun. Repeating the same motions she had done countless times, she took out and prepared a salad for herself. Salads were easy and she always kept some ingredients handy to make them if she was tired.

The pegasus ate while she thought about the games she would play with Pinkie Pie. About the books Twilight would want to talk about. About the crops Applejack would want to consider. About the clothes Rarity would-

She coughed. The salad tasted funny…

It wasn’t enough to make her stop eating, however, or to completely derail her thoughts. Of course, she couldn’t forget Rainbow Dash wanting to discuss her next amazing trick. After what happened last time it was a miracle she was still in one piece. Now she wanted to do loops and spins and-

Fluttershy stopped dead, face half way to the bowl before her. It had never been an issue to leave food outside her storage containers before. However, she realized letting her mind wander had caused her to overlook something fairly important…

Her carrots were green.

More frightening then that was the fact that she had eaten almost the entire salad. She shoved the bowl away and fought down panic. It was fine, it’s not like it was poison. They were just a little moldy. Her stomach could handle that.

The ever darkening world around her seemed to grow darker.

“It’s fine!” she said aloud. How could she get sick from something like this? No pony ever got sick anymore! Besides, she had a ton of medicine stocked up here and more at the hospital in Ponyville. If something did happen, then she was prepared.

Sensing its easy defeat, the darkness receded. Fluttershy sighed in relief and started to clean up.

She had a big day tomorrow.

Before she crawled into bed that night, Fluttershy had decided to let Angel sleep beside her. He was always so warm and cuddly. Plus, her stomach had felt kind of funny, so she just wanted to hold him and feel better.

That’s why she only had herself to blame when she woke up the next morning, uncurled herself from her ball-like position, and vomited all over him.

It all happened so quickly that the pony could barely process what had occurred. Her eyes stared into Angel’s sockets. Bile ran down his face. She could see the shock in his eyes.

Like a bolt of lightning, Fluttershy’s mind snapped into focus. With it came pain. Her stomach felt like it was being squeezed by a hand made of fire. But even as her insides burned, her teeth started to chatter. Cold. She felt so cold all of a sudden.

Though her mind had woken up completely it still felt as if she was in a dream. As she tried to get out of bed, she forgot what she had just done and slipped in the mess onto the floor. Angel clattered across the floor, unharmed. He had been wired tighter together for reasons she couldn’t remember.

It was hard for Fluttershy to even remember where she was for a moment as she lay on the floor, staring at Angel. Her life was nothing but pain, confusion, and invading fear. A previous memory rocketed to the forefront of her mind: it was tomorrow.

Excitement stomped out fear. It was tomorrow!

Fluttershy suddenly realized what was going on. “Angel!” she cried, her throat raw, “You poor thing, you must have eaten something bad for you…” The little rabbit must have been sick, that’s why he had thrown up. Poor thing…

Climbing slowly to her feet, the pegasus walked over to Angel. Her stomach was becoming a dull pain that she could ignore. “I’ll give you a quick bath before I go out today…” said Fluttershy. It hurt to talk but she wanted to let Angel know she was there for him.

Gingerly, telling herself that it wouldn’t be as bad as she knew it would, Fluttershy bent down and bit on Angel’s ear. There was no other choice. Her hooves were slippery with vomit. Lifting him up, she quickly turned and nearly ran to the bathroom. The taste of bile back in her already unclean mouth almost made her drop him.

The early morning sunlight lit up the bathroom through its single window. A bathtub stretched across one wall, and this was what Fluttershy dropped Angel into. She had not planned in advance for this so no water had been brought up to the upstairs bathroom other than a small amount she kept handy to splash on her face to wake up.

Mind still slowed, it wasn’t too difficult a choice to leave Angel a chore for later and deal with the horrible taste in her mouth. The pegasus went to the sink and, after splashing water on her face to clean in, washed out her mouth. It helped. A little.

The water was freezing. She was acutely aware that her shakes hadn’t stopped since she had gotten out of bed. “What strange weather we’re having today…” she said as she toweled off. It had just grown colder, that was all.

No cold would stop her from having this day.

One thick sweater later, the yellow pony was on her way to Ponyville. The day seemed a lot brighter than usual, and stung her eyes a little, but that was ok. Fluttershy knew the path by heart.

Though she should have felt warm in the wool sweater, she continued to shiver. The numbness in her stomach had started to spread as well. This was also ok. It’s not like she was sick. No pony ever got sick anymore…

There, just like she knew she’d be, was Pinkie Pie standing alone on the trail. “Good morning, Pinkie Pie!” said Fluttershy cheerily.

When she got closer, the pink pony said, “Good moooooorning, Fluttershy! Isn’t just a super duper looper day today?”

Laughing softly, the pegasus just nodded. Pinkie Pie was always so full of energy and life…

And…

The ghost of a headache started to make itself known in Fluttershy’s head. Darkness seemed to gather in the long morning shadows. But…but there was nothing wrong!

“Um…let’s go to Twilight’s, Pinkie!” she blurted out and started pushing Pinkie Pie along the trail. The pegasus had not tied a rope to the earth pony to pull her along, thinking to spend a relaxing walk with her friend. What a foolish idea-

No, not foolish. It was a great idea that just didn’t happen the way she wanted. Why would she even think such negative things…?

Shadows lazily followed the two ponies through Ponyville, feeding on the pegasus’s anxiety.

Key.

Key, key, where is that…oh…the doors unlocked…of course it is…

Fluttershy pressed her shivering body against the library door to open it. Why had she thought she needed a key? No pony locked their door since…she…couldn’t remember.

The headache had built to a pulsing pain inside her skull. She and Pinkie had passed the hospital along the way to Twilight’s, but had kept walking. Feeling a little under the weather wasn’t enough to warrant going to…where again?

“Ugh…” the pegasus rubbed her temples with her hooves. It had become so much harder to think straight. She just wanted to lie down…

But she was a guest at Twilight’s house, and so she needed to be respectful. Besides, everypony was there already now that Pinkie Pie was outside. Smiling weakly, she put her hooves down and walked over to where her unicorn friend sat. A book was open in front of her, as usual. “Good…um…afternoon! Good afternoon, Twilight!”

The purple pony smiled at her friend’s approach but kept her eyes on the book before her. She looked fuzzy to Fluttershy. The unicorn’s mouth opened to say something but…she couldn’t figure out what she would…no, she couldn’t find the words…wait, she couldn’t…

“Gah!” Fluttershy cried as her headache erupted like a volcano. Her legs fell out from under her and she hit the floor hard. The room spun.

Laughter broke through the madness but did not replace it. Weakly, Fluttershy looked around the room, “Who’s…there?”

Wind slammed the door to the house shut. The loud noise made her jump and brought a small amount of control back. Laughter continued to come from the deepening darkness surrounding her.

Have to get out. Have to get to the hospital. Something is wrong with me. Have to get out.

But even when she got her legs under her they would only move so fast. It was like she was moving through water. Sensing her intent, the darkness deepened faster, the laughter turning to a growl. Fluttershy struggled with all her might to put one weak hoof in front of the other.

But it was so dark and fuzzy. The headache hurt so bad. She stumbled and toppled into Applejack, who fell over sideways through the entrance to the basement. Fluttershy tried to push forward and grab her friend.

They both tumbled down the ramp.

Fluttershy had many friends. Darkness was not one of them. In every place darkness would gather, she had made sure to put something she could light to chase it away. Twilight’s basement was no exception.

The fall had not knocked her out, though she was beginning to wish it had. There weren’t words she could find to describe how much pain she was in. And even though she could barely think, the need for light forced her to reach for the lantern.

A few flicks of the flint lit the wick and bathed the room in light. The sudden change made her shut her eyes. But it was light. That was one need fulfilled.

What was she doing down there, again?

The pegasus opened her eyes and noticed Applejack instantly. The earth pony was upright, leaning against a trunk. Light from the lantern created a dancing shadow puppet of her friend on the wall behind her.

For several seconds, Fluttershy didn’t know what to do next. Hot, cold, pain, aching. She just wanted to sleep…

Then sleep…

Half-closed lids shot open. Frightened, the pony’s head jerked side to side, trying to find the source of the voice.

Here…

The dancing shadow of her friend froze. A red dot appeared on its face and grew. Outlined teeth turned sharp and jagged. When the dot had grown to the size of an egg, a smaller black dot appeared within it and grew as well. After just moments, the blood red eye turned its attention to the shaking pony below.

It’s mouth stretching into a grin but otherwise staying completely still, the shadow spoke, “If you wish to sleep, then sleep…if you wish to die, then die…”

Fluttershy’s knees went weak under her. “I… no... I… ” was all she could stammer out.

The red eye continued to expand slowly. “Do you know what I am, little Fluttershy? You were the one that created me, you know…when you tried to push all your hate and anger away, where did you think it went?”

“Away!” the pony cried out, tears welling in her eyes. “It went away! I don’t need it anymore!”

“YOU WILL ALWAYS NEED ME!” the shadow screamed. “And you will always have me! Deep inside you, ready to show you how miserable an existence you truly are! Creating these puppets out of your ‘friends’! Look at them!”

Shadows lashed out of the darkness around Fluttershy and wrapped around her legs. She screamed, thrashed, but they would not let go. Instead, they forced her to walk closer to Applejack, closer to the shadow creature.

The glowing red eye was now as large as a soccer ball. “This mockery of life,” it said, voice dripping spite, “You will destroy it with your own hooves!”

Eyes wide, the pegasus was forced to sit and lift her front legs up. Though only a few thoughts would process through her sickened mind, it was obvious what was about to happen.

“Take her apart,” she said.

What?

She said that…

The shadows tried to make her hooves move forward but she fought it. Because…because they were a part of her. This was all…in her mind…

“Take…her…” the shadow made her say. It was talking through her, had been the entire time. There was no other way for it to speak.

All in her mind.

“Leave…my…friend…alone!” Fluttershy growled and twisted. The shadows snapped off her.

In a final act of rebellion, the red eye exploded and spread along the walls. The pony’s headache exploded.

DO NOT DENY ME!

Screaming, Fluttershy grabbed Applejack with her two front legs and ran up the basement ramp.

The darkness screamed back at her inside her head and-

Afternoon light bathed her as she ran into the living room of the library. Applejack fell from her legs as Fluttershy stumbled, falling onto her back. There was no darkness, no red eye. The headache was fading.

It was all…fading…

Hey…

Light flashed briefly as the pony’s eyes fluttered a moment.

Hey! Get up!

Fluttershy felt her front leg rise and smack herself against the face. She cried out in surprise.

Get up, Celestia curse you!

Shaking her head, the pegasus rolled over onto her side. She was still in pain but her headache was gone. She still shivered, however, her sweater soaked in sweat. Though the headache was gone, the pony still found it hard to think.

That’s because you’re still sick! Get to the hospital before you kill us both!

“Go away… let me sleep... ” the pegasus said and started to pass out.

No no no no no! I will not die because YOU gave up!

Half-asleep, Fluttershy felt her body start to move on its own. While she registered it, she could do little to stop it.

Stumbling out the door, the pony tripped over Pinkie Pie, heard swearing in her mind, then got up and continued on towards the hospital. Steps before the entrance, she passed out again.

Night had fallen when the pony next awoke. A strange taste was in her mouth. It was a moment before she realized she recognized it: medicine. The bottle of the stuff she had taken rested on the ground beside her, still open.

The pain in her stomach was a ghost of its former self. Fluttershy’s thoughts came easier, clearer. She was getting better.

No thanks to you…

Othershy sat across the dark room. They were in the hospital waiting room. The medicine the pony had found was laid out on the chairs for easy use.

Fluttershy’s heartbeat rose at the sight of her dark specter. But Othershy stayed where she was, red eyes narrowed. There was a reason she wasn’t approaching but…it was hard right then to remember. She also couldn’t remember taking the medicine…

“You…helped me?” said the pegasus.

If I hadn’t, said Othershy in her mind, we both would have died. Do not expect me to do it again.

With that, the dark pony turned and faded away.

So much had happened in so short a time, Fluttershy couldn’t process it all. Her stomach growled suddenly.

She would think about it all over a large dinner.

Dark clouds covered the night sky as Fluttershy sat on her balcony, full. Everything she ate had been inspected rigorously. She would never get sick from her own neglect again, if she could help it.

Something important had occurred that day. It made her smile. Angel, in her lap, smiled with her. It had taken her some time to clean him off. The silly rabbit, getting sick…

Absently stroking his head, she said, “Want to hear about mama’s day, Angel? I spent the whooole day with my friends at Twilight’s house…and I think I made a new one…”

Chapter 6 - Campfire Stories

Two years, seven months after meteor…

Fluttershy smiled nervously, sitting quietly at the picnic table. Her friends were all sitting with her, talking and keeping their own conversation. Rainbow Dash was proudly wearing a gold medal around her neck; Applejack and Twilight Sparkle wore their own medals slightly less proudly.

She felt so out of place here…she loved picnics, and loved being with her friends, but it was the after-party for the Running of the Leaves, an event she never took part of. Many of her friends participated this year, as they have done in years prior, and invited her for the picnic. She felt…obligated to accept the invitation. She didn’t have a good reason not to; it was irrational and silly to feel out of place around her friends.

“…And then it was just Rainbow Dash and Applejack again, head to head, running towards the finish line, and out of nowhere, Twilight ran up behind them going even faster, about to take lead! And then Rainbow Dash and Applejack ran ahead faster and nearly tied for first! And Twilight took third by only a fourth of a second, by my count!” Pinkie Pie yelled, reenacting the scene by running in place and punctuating her words energetically.

The other ponies giggled and laughed, and Fluttershy just smiled.

Fluttershy picked up an apple from the basket and held it on her hoof, taking small bites of it as she listened to the other ponies. She wished she had something to talk about…she never liked racing; she hated to see so many ponies lose and only one win. It was so…competitive.

The skin of the apple was thin, and the whole of it was very soft. It was no longer bright crimson, but looked faded and worn. It was disgusting. It tasted…old. How could it be old? Applejack always made sure her apples were fresh. There’s no way she’d bring old, moldy apples to the picnic, that wouldn’t make any sense…

Fluttershy took another bite. She ignored the terrible taste: it didn’t make any sense, so it wasn’t true. Everything has to make sense to be real.

The apple tasted fresh and juicy, like they always did. There was no reason for it not to be like it always was…

“Ohh! Apples, good idea!” Pinkie Pie reached to the picnic basket to get her own apple then put all of it in her mouth at once. Fluttershy could see it being crushed into mush as Pinkie chewed with her mouth open, her jaw opening wide and closing over and over.

Fluttershy couldn’t help but find it a little disgusting…but she didn’t want to say anything about it.

“Uh, Pinkie Pie?” Twilight said, noticing her table manners. “Would you mind eating that with your mouth closed…?”

There. Twilight said it, so everything is fine.

“Oops, sorry.” Pinkie smiled, apple chunks in her teeth. She closed her mouth and swallowed.

Apple mush dropped down onto Pinkie’s rib cage, rolling down to her hooves. It made quite a mess, and there was mostly-chewed apple all over her bare bones…

“Oh, Pinkie Pie, you’re so messy sometimes…” Fluttershy said, turning to her friend.

She used her hooves to brush away some of the larger chunks off the bones, and slide anything else under the picnic table. Pinkie’s teeth were covered in pieces of apple, ruining her smile.

“I was afraid this would happen, it always does when I let you eat.” Fluttershy smiled, reaching her mouth behind her wing. She brought a tooth brush just for this situation. She held its handle in her mouth and aimed the brush into Pinkie’s mouth. She had to hold her skull in place with her forelegs.

The bristles cleared her smile quickly, easily brushing the soft fruit off. How could she let her friends eat in front of her? They always make such messes…

Once Fluttershy was done, she made sure all apple mush was out of sight, and she took another small bite from her own apple.

“Mmm, juicy!” Pinkie rubbed her stomach happily, finishing her apple.

There, everything went perfectly. Why wouldn’t it? It’s just an apple, nopony has trouble eating apples.

“Ah’m glad you like ‘em, I just picked this batch of apples this morning.” Applejack said proudly. Fluttershy’s other friends began talking again on the subject, and Fluttershy herself became quiet again. She seemed to only talk now when she needed to help somepony…

“Well, I should be going home now. I’m still tired and sore after beating Applejack and Twilight at the race…” Rainbow Dash bragged, standing up. Her medal clanged against her chest.

“Watch it, you…but Ah should be headin’ home too, I still have lots of apple bucking to do tomorrow and Ah need mah rest.” Applejack stood up as well, preparing to leave.

“Oh, you’re going so soon? We were going to set up a campfire soon for us…” Twilight frowned. “And Rarity didn’t want to come anyway, so it would just be us three.”

“Sorry, not tonight.” Rainbow Dash and Applejack said together.

“Uhm, actually, if you don’t mind, I think I should be heading home too. It’s getting dark and I need to tuck in some animals I’m taking care of for bed…” Fluttershy hoped it wouldn’t be so bad if she left with other ponies.

“Whaat? All of you are going? Come on, Fluttershy, can’t you stay at least? For me?” Pinkie begged, jumping off her seat and in front of Fluttershy.

Pinkie looked like she was about to cry. She was staring into Fluttershy desperately…

“I…Umm...Okay.” She gave in, taking her seat.

“Yaaay!” Pinkie bounced back down.

Fluttershy wished she just left, but couldn’t say “no” to Pinkie’s face…

“Well, it was nice seein’ y’all.”

“Yeah, bye guys.” Rainbow Dash said, leaving with Applejack.

Fluttershy moved her friends out of sight, but not all the way to Ponyville. She would have to deal with them later.

“So, uh, how late will we be, then?” Fluttershy asked, walking back to the picnic area.

“I can stay for a few more hours, but I can’t leave Spike at home by himself all night.” Twilight said.

“I don’t have anything to do for a few days so I can stay up all night! I’ll probably get tired but I can try. Are you with me, Fluttershy?” Pinkie smiled widely, eagerly looking to Fluttershy.

“Uhh, sure. I’ll try. Oh, how is Spike doing, by the way? I haven’t seen him in awhile…”

Pinkie hopped up and down for a moment then sat down again, still smiling.

“Oh. Spike is fine, he’s…”

Twilight froze. She was silent and stopped moving entirely. Fluttershy was confused, she was just talking, why did she stop?

And what about Spike?

…Spike.

“That’s lovely, then. So should we start the fire now?” Fluttershy broke the silence and changed the subject. The three mares stood up and walked to the fire pit, which was ready to be lit. Fluttershy wasted no time and took out a box of matches she brought solely for the campfire.

It took a few tries, but she lit the match and tossed it into the fire pit. It quickly began catching fire to small branches and leaves, sending smoke upward. The fire pit was in a small clearing near the edge of the woods. Trees surrounded the area; some unsafely close to the fire.

Fluttershy sat on the dirt next to Pinkie Pie, feeling the warmth of the growing flames. Twilight Sparkle was laying down on Fluttershy’s other side, smiling brightly.

None of them talked, but it was very pleasant to Fluttershy. She liked this better than the actual picnic, it was much more relaxing.

The fire grew taller and hotter, until the heat was nearly painful for Fluttershy. She moved a few steps back, moving Pinkie Pie with her. Twilight was out of reach.

“Twilight, be careful that close to the fire, it’s big and could burn your mane right off!” Pinkie warned.

“I’m fine, thank you.” Twilight smiled.

Fluttershy enjoyed sitting next to Pinkie, but kept on eye on Twilight to make sure she was okay. She didn’t move or react to the fire at all, just laying there and smiling at it.

Wind blew through the forest and chilled Fluttershy. She cuddled closer to Pinkie Pie, and ignored the fact that she wasn’t giving off any body heat.

The wind was blowing through the fire towards them. Smoke was carried into them, and Fluttershy covered her eyes to keep it away. She could feel the fire reach closer to her because of the wind, and wondered how Twilight was reacting –being closer to the fire.

She was lying in the same place, and continued smiling. Smoke blew straight into her eyes and mouth and she didn’t even try to keep it away.

“Twilight, are you alright? Want to sit closer to us?”

“I’m fine, thank you.” Twilight said blankly.

No, it wasn’t fine. It didn’t make sense for Twilight to keep sitting so close to the fire…

The wind died down, and the fire moved back. Smoke cleared around the ponies. Fluttershy stood up and walked closer to Twilight.

“Well I guess I should head back now, I can’t leave Spi…my library unattended for so long and I need my sleep. You two have fun!” Twilight stood up and waved goodbye to Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.

Fluttershy carried her back to Ponyville, along with Applejack and Rainbow Dash. It took a while, but they were all safe at home.

She was very exhausted by the time she was back in the woods, and was ready to relax for the rest of the evening with Pinkie Pie. She was looking forward to it very much now.

“Bye, Twilight.” Fluttershy waved back to Twilight, pretending to see her leave just then. She sat down next to Pinkie Pie, cuddling her closely. She began dozing off, tired and sore. Everything was fine…

The campfire’s flames whipped the air above it, swaying the shadows on the trees, cast by all the ponies around the fire. Other than the flames, everything nearby was dark and calm. It was a perfectly relaxing end to her tiring day. Fluttershy closed her eyes, letting the fire warm her body in the cold night. It grew silent as she relaxed; the ponies were at home and the animals had gone to sleep. She was nearly asleep herself, losing focus of everything around her.

She never fell asleep, only sat by the fire with her eyes closed. The pegasus was tired; it had been quite a long day for her. Not to say it wasn’t a good day, of course. She had fun, and spent time with all her friends; everything went perfectly. Much better than expected.

“Today was fun, wasn’t it Pinkie?” Fluttershy smiled, looking to her friend. Pinkie Pie sat next to her, smiling, as she always did. As everypony always did.

The pink pony didn’t respond, or move. She just smiled and sat by the campfire…

“…Pinkie Pie? Are you feeling alright?” The pegasus leaned closer to her friend, but the pink pony didn’t move. She sat motionless. Fluttershy stood up, worried and concerned. Today was going too well for this to happen…

Shadows darted and danced from tree to tree as the flames jumped from the campfire, casting silhouettes that disappeared in an instant. One particular silhouette stole Fluttershy’s attention away from her paralyzed friend; likely because it didn’t flicker, shift, disappear, or shake on the side of the tree. A red-eyed silhouette stepped from the surface, breaking into the third dimension from the shadow.

Fluttershy let out an exclamation of surprise and held onto Pinkie Pie. She was frightened by Othershy, of course; as anypony would be. Her jagged, drooling teeth and crooked smile simply weren’t natural…Fluttershy tried to be friendly to everypony, but never felt comfortable around Othershy.

“Don’t worry, Fluttershy. I’m not here because you did something wrong. I’m not here to hurt you today.” Othershy said before her tangible counter-part could give further reaction. Her voice was dry and loud, but still eerily soft and faintly similar to Fluttershy’s.

“I just wanted to talk for a while. It’s been a long time since we last spoke,” Othershy stared into Fluttershy’s eyes over the flames and fire.

The yellow pegasus didn’t know what to say. She hoped, or course, to become less hostile with her, but she never expected to be confronted by her like this. It was perfect, more or less. She swallowed her fear and let go of the earth pony, facing Othershy.

“That would be…wonderful! ...I would love to –what do you…want to talk about?” Fluttershy asked, looking for the right words. She didn’t want to mess this up, everything was going so well.

“On a night like this? So deep into the forest? By a campfire, even…? Why don’t we tell ghost stories?” Othershy smiled, spiked teeth cutting her own lips as they stretched and made way for them.

“G-ghost stories…? Uh, why don’t we talk about something less…dark? Please?” The pegasus whined, voice getting higher as she went on. She never liked ghost stories; being easily scared, and didn’t even know any to tell.

“Ghost stories. I know a few I would love to tell, what do you say? …Friend?” The smile spread further across her face.

Fluttershy paused in uncertainty. She didn’t want to talk about scary stories, but she knew Othershy didn’t want to talk about anything else, and she wanted to talk to her, to try to become her friend.

“…Okay. I will. For you…” Fluttershy gave in. The fire crackled in front of her, and the flames whipped the shadows around her. In the flickering light, the sick and twisted smile of Othershy stretched past natural boundaries, reaching ear to ear and showing layers of countless imperfect teeth.

“Thank you, Fluttershy... Now, which to tell, which to tell… Ah. I have one. ‘The bunny in the cave.’ Perfect.”

The fire died down suddenly, now barely giving Fluttershy warmth. The night was darker, and the winds and forest were quieter. All that could be seen and heard was Othershy, standing on the other side of the low fire from Fluttershy, who nudged herself closer to Pinkie Pie to keep herself warm. It didn’t help.

“There once was an innocent little pegasus who lived in a cottage near Ponyville. She always loved for animals and took care of them when she could, and never met a bunny she didn’t love. For her, everything was fine, all of the time.” Othershy walked back and forth as she continued.

“But then one day, as all good stories go, something terrible happened… She followed her favorite little bunny into a cave. In the cave, she chased her bunny until he was too tired to keep ahead. The little animal just loved running and being chased. It was fun, and the pony played along. When the pony finally caught her pet she tried to make her way out of the scary, lonely cave…but she couldn’t find her way out. It was very dark, and very scary, and this poor little pony didn’t know what to do.”

The wind picked up slightly and the flames grew from the embers.

“The poor pony searched for hours in the dark for an exit, she retraced her steps as best she could but never found the exit. There was no light. She grew hungrier, as did her pet. She walked around for many more hours before her legs gave out. On the rocks she slept, cuddling the warmth of her bunny. The next day, she searched for an exit again. She failed. She fell asleep. She couldn’t tell if it was hours, days, or weeks between each rest. But it felt like years to her. She was starving, lost, blind and worried. Her bunny fell asleep one night, and didn’t want to wake up the next. The poor little pony let him lie sleeping. He must’ve just been tired…”

Fluttershy hugged Pinkie Pie tighter. She didn’t even blink, enthralled in the story. Her eyes were watering, and her throat suddenly ached.

“The little…angel of hers rode on the pony’s back now, far too tired to walk. And the pony herself became hungrier with each passing minute. She walked in circles, she walked up and down, and over every rock twice. But still was lost. She grew lonely, and began talking to her pet. She knew he wouldn’t reply, but she just couldn’t stand the silence…she was hungry, tired, and lonely. With each minute she felt like she was going to die, and each minute she felt like she just might want to…”

The yellow pegasus was shaking from fright. She tried to stop Othershy from continuing the story, but every time she tried to speak nothing was heard but a whimper. Fluttershy’s distress only added to the pleasure Othershy was taking in the story.

“She decided, one day, that she was going to stop searching. That she would give up, and lie down, and sleep… That day, however, she saw a light. A faint light, at first. She ran towards it. She told her bunny, telling him to wake up. They were free. She was elated for freedom. The light burned her eyes as she got closer to the exit, and blinded once she escaped. It was so bright and sunny outside; and absolutely wonderful. She would have sung, if her throat wasn’t dried from thirst. As soon as she could, she opened her eyes. It was just as she left, the sun was shining, the birds were singing…”

Fluttershy got more comfortable. In her naivety, she was accepting the happy ending given to her. Othershy paused, letting the pegasus smile in her innocence, before taking a sudden step forward and continuing sharply.

“The pony then turned to her bunny, her poor, helpless bunny. He was lying on her back, and then was brought down. He was still sleeping. Or rather, he wasn’t moving. The pony tried talking to him, singing to him, nudging him and picking him up again. But he wouldn’t wake up… He was dead. Starved in the cave. Because the pony got lost.”

Fluttershy was frozen in despair. She was so caught up believing the story was going to be happy, she was caught off-guard by the sudden change. Her eyes were crying, and she bit her lip to keep herself from whimpering. That poor bunny…that poor angel…

“The poor pony cried, and dug a hole for her friend. She buried him there, by the cave. Then she left, and went home. Drank, she ate, and went to sleep. She talked to her friends the next day, who were surprised to see her, ‘It’s been nearly a week! Where have you been?’ They would ask. ‘A week? That can’t be right. I didn’t go anywhere. I only slept a night. Nothing bad happened.’ The pony claimed.”

Othershy took steps closer to Fluttershy as she continued. As she neared the fire, the light lit the bottom of her face. Her smile was clearer now, as were the teeth behind it.

“Her friends got over it after a while. No big deal. But they did ask about her bunny. She loved that bunny… ‘But where is he? Do you know where he went?’ they asked her. ‘He left, that’s all. He’s free and wild. He’s happy…’ She lied. She lied to them, and to herself. She wanted to believe the bunny was fine. After a few months, she stopped thinking about her week in the cave, and about her bunny. A few years later she believed her story. The bunny was happy. That week never happened... How long did it take you, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy was holding onto Pinkie Pie again, looking for comfort after hearing such a terrible story...Fluttershy couldn’t answer, she had to hold back her tears.

It was only a story, Fluttershy. Only a story…

“How long did it take you to forget about the cave? To forget about Angel? To forget about everything bad in Equestria!” The shade screamed.

The fire seemed to brighten with Othershy’s voice, flames gaining height with the volume. Othershy’s smile was gone, and seemed genuinely angry.

“You…you’re scaring me…” Fluttershy whimpered. She looked away from her, and wiped tears from her eyes. She wanted to just run. This was terrible.

She didn’t understand. She didn’t remember anything about a cave….

Othershy stood still over the fire as it flickered light onto their faces. Slowly, her lips curled back, and her mouth reshaped into a smile, jagged fangs and all. She backed away, and paced around the fire while Fluttershy fought off negative thoughts.

“I…I don’t think I like ghost stories…I don’t want to hear any more tonight…” Fluttershy whimpered, looking away from the fire and avoiding eye contact.

“Aww, come on Fluttershy. It’s all a part of the story. It’s meant to be scary.” Othershy’s smile disappeared, but she still sounded amused.

“I thought we were friends, Fluttershy. I’m having fun with you tonight. You wouldn’t tell your friend to stop having fun, would you Fluttershy…?”

“Well –I, -No, but –I just…I just don’t think we should keep telling ghost stories…I’m sure we can find another way to have fun…” Fluttershy offered, stuttering her words.

“But I like ghost stories. I like telling ghost stories. I’m having fun; don’t you want your friend to have fun?” Othershy stood nearly over the fire, but didn’t react to the heat of the flames. Fluttershy felt cornered with Othershy standing over her. She felt bad for Othershy. She wanted to be friends with her. She couldn’t stand to see her so unhappy…

“Alight. Just one more story, okay?” Fluttershy instantly regretted her allowance.

Othershy smiled. She backed away from the fire, standing just in front of a few trees.

“Thank you… I have just the story in mind, actually.”

Othershy stood in place, and Fluttershy sat straight again. One more story… Only because she was trying to be a good friend with her…

“The next story features a pony much like you, Fluttershy. You see, this pony just loved nature. She loved singing to the animals, and helping them whenever she could. She had many close friends, but was quite shy and could go days in her house without seeing them. She lived in a small cottage in the forest, to better take care of the animals there. The town she lived closest to was a few miles away, but she didn’t mind. It was peaceful there.”

Fluttershy tried to distance herself from the story. It was nice now, but she knew it would turn bad, some twist in the story to scare her. She looked no further than Pinkie Pie, the pony sitting next to her, to distract her. She was quiet since Othershy came. Must be asleep…

“One week, she was busy taking care of a sick family of birds. She wasn’t able to visit her friends at all, she never had the time. When she was finally confident in the birds’ health, she left to visit her friends…”

Fluttershy’s naivety got the best of her, and she smiled at the story. She remembered having a week just like that a long time ago; it kept her quite busy…

“…However, the entire town was burnt. A fire destroyed all the buildings, and many ponies were dead and blackened in their own homes. Ash carpeted the ground everywhere, and no living pony was seen.”

The yellow pony attempted to keep composure through the story. She was doing rather well, and assumed that was the worst part already. It was awful, but it was just a story…

“The poor pony never knew anyone that died before, and certainly hadn’t seen anyone burned like this before. In this innocent, childish mindset, the pony took her best friends back to her cottage, where she tried to help them. They didn’t talk, but she ignored that. They had to be fine. There was no other option. She tried bandages and medicine, but nothing seemed to help.”

She took hold of Pinkie Pie again. Even if she was sleeping, it was comforting to know she was there; to know that her friends were fine.

“After a day of failure, she still didn’t accept their demise. She decided they simply needed cleaning first. Then they would get better… The pony put her friend in the bathtub, and scrubbed away the dirt and the flesh. It was all the same to her. She scrubbed away, charred flesh, rotting muscle… it was all dirt to her. It took all day to finish, but she cleaned her friend until she sparkled clean. She did this to all her friends. They just needed cleaning up…”

Fluttershy tried not to pay attention, but was unsuccessful. The story tore her up inside, made her feel sick and light-headed. Did she really care about the pony in the story that much?

“After all her friend’s were scrubbed and soaped clean of dirt and skin, she placed them in her living room. They were smiling. But they weren’t talking. They weren’t better. And it wasn’t until all but the bones were in place for her to see it… She cried in front of her friends. She cried from their deaths, and the terrible things she did. It wasn’t natural... They needed to be buried… So the pony worked days again, this time for the purpose of covering her friends in dirt. There was a beautiful part of the forest with enough space for all their graves. It was going to be perfect.”

Fluttershy cleared the tears from eyes with her foreleg. She was silent, not wanting to sound traumatized around her new friend, and not wanting to wake Pinkie Pie up. Othershy looked directly at her counterpart, and thus made Fluttershy look away to Pinkie, who was quietly sleeping with a smile on her face…constantly smiling.

“She buried them each, saying her last goodbyes and apologies. She didn’t know what to do later, but it didn’t matter. Her friends were more important to her now. It took all night, but she finished her graves for her best friends…but then, like any good ghost story, the dead aren’t quite as content as the living. Hoof by hoof, bone by bone, the skeletons broke through the dirt. The pony was surrounded by the graves, and didn’t even try to run. The skeletons pulled themselves up through the earth, and looked at the pony. She was scared. She was confused. But she didn’t fight back. She didn’t fight back when they all surrounded her and circled her; she didn’t fight back when they kicked and bit her; she didn’t even fight back when they dragged the poor pony into the earth and ate her flesh away until her bones sparkled!” Othershy let out a laugh she had obviously been holding for a while. It echoed through the forest and paralyzed Fluttershy. She wanted to run, to leave Othershy and forget the story and never think of them again, but her muscles wouldn’t let her move or scream.

She was mortified. She was scared. She never liked ghost stories…

“Pinkie Pie, Pinkie please wake up, Pinkie…” The pegasus whispered to her sleeping friend. She needed somepony to talk to, to comfort her. And she didn’t trust Othershy to help her with that.

The pink pony remained sleeping, and also remained smiling. Always smiling.

“Pinkie please, oh please get up… Please I just want to talk with you Pinkie please…”

Fluttershy started shaking her friend to encourage her to wake up. She couldn’t get the images out of her head. The skeletons attacking the pony, dragging her down into the earth…

“Pinkie Pie…”

Othershy continued to widen her smile, now taking up the entire lower half of her face. She laughed again, which echoed for miles around her.

“Oh, come on Fluttershy. I’m having so much fun… One more, what do you say?” She asked, finishing her laughter, but still smiling unnaturally.

Fluttershy was gasping for breath, inhaling deeply to calm herself. It took over a minute before she could bring herself to talk to Othershy again.

“I…I would really much prefer not to. I’m sorry, I just…I can’t…” Fluttershy stuttered, not making eye contact with the shadow. She shook Pinkie Pie again. She needed a friend right now. Pinkie Pie rattled with each shake, and was still smiling widely.

“Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria…” Othershy began, nearly laughing in excitement and amusement.

“No, please, I would really like you to stop…” Fluttershy said, with slight annoyance. She didn’t intend it. She wanted to be friends with Othershy. She wanted to be kind. But she couldn’t.

“…There lived an innocent young pegasus named Fluttershy, who lived in a cottage outside of Ponyville.” Othershy took a step closer to Flutterhsy with each syllable, mockingly.

“No, no please stop this at once…you’re being rude…” She let go of Pinkie Pie to face Othershy.

“One day, a meteor fell, and the poor pony’s life was ruined. Every single pony died that day, but the poor pony forgot. And everything was fine.”

“Stop! Stop now!” Fluttershy yelled. She lost control of herself. This wasn’t fair. It hurt her head to think about. It had to stop.

Othershy stopped smiling, her entire face reshaping to express her anger, her hatred.

“But it wasn’t fine! It was terrible! A disgusting attempt at a recreation of the world around her, doing nothing to the justice it held before. She made it worse with her every action, doing everything for her benefit and no pony else’s!” Othershy stood on the fire, which was now raging around her. The heat couldn’t bother Fluttershy now.

“No! That never happened! You’re lying!” Fluttershy shouted, standing up against Othershy. She couldn’t let this happen. She wouldn’t let a ghost story ruin her paradise. It couldn’t end like this.

Fluttershy reached her head into the fire, and picked up a small log in her mouth. It burned to hold, but she didn’t give it any thought.

“What are you doing now, Fluttershy? You can’t hurt me. You can’t do anything. You can’t “fix” a ghost story. Everything is disgusting. Everything is wrong.”

The pegasus flew to the near tops of the trees, and lit the branches aflame as she flew by. She circled the clearing, setting fire to all the trees before dropping the log and returning to the ground.

“There wasn’t a running of the leaves this year, because you didn’t want to move that many ponies! You skipped it and held a picnic instead! It is pathetic to see you do this! I want to vomit when I see you move your friends back and forth, and then pretend they walked all by themselves! You disgust me! You are pathetic!!” Othershy yelled in anger. Her red eyes grew with her rage. She couldn’t do anything to stop Fluttershy. She needed Fluttershy to live. She couldn’t even let Fluttershy stay here if it was going to burn.

The pegasus ignored the shade, and instead devoted her efforts to picking up Pinkie Pie. It was much easier than it used to be. Fluttershy flew out of the forest with Pinkie Pie.

She had to forget today…it was ruined and she didn’t want to think about Othershy and her stories. The lies would destroy her paradise.

Fluttershy sat on the grassy field near her house, and the sun was just rising over the hills in the distance. Pinkie Pie woke up with the light, and brought herself to sit up next to her friend.

“Good morning, Pinkie Pie. Did you sleep well?” Fluttershy smiled. She had only woken up recently, but didn’t want to wake up her friend so early.

“Actually, I had a few nightmares… But otherwise! I slept great!” Pinkie Pie smiled ecstatically. Fluttershy liked that. Pinkie was always able to smile and be happy. It always helped.

“Nightmares? I wouldn’t think about them. If you don’t think about nightmares after you have them, you won’t remember them later. Like they never happened at all.”

“Oh, look at the forest Pinkie. The wind is picking up, and all the leaves are falling…”

Fluttershy felt water drop onto her. She was confused. Then water started dripping down all around her. She looked up, curious what could be above her to drip water so widely...

Of course.

It was raining. How could Fluttershy forget about rain…? It hadn’t rained in so long...

Pinkie Pie smiled, cuddling with Fluttershy on the hill and enjoying the morning air. The trees were beautiful, and the leaves from them were beautiful.

It helped Fluttershy ignore the smell of ash.

Chapter 7 - Sleepless Nights

Zero months, zero years after meteor…

As she stared down at Angel, tears silently streaming from her eyes, she said the words but couldn’t mean them. They were empty of emotion, and emotion was her specialty.

I should make sure everypony is ok…

But her legs wouldn’t move. Why wouldn’t her legs move?

Nearby, a tree toppled to the ground. The roots that had held it were burned to a crisp. There were patches of fire all around her but they were all small and isolated. It was as if the world had gone through an oven on full blast and came out overcooked.

I bet Pinkie Pie’d make a baking joke, if she were here…

Pinkie Pie, along with the rest of her friends, were in Ponyville. Far off Ponyville. She could see the tops of buildings peeking out from behind trees from where she stood on the side of the mountain. Not once did she realize how far she had gone.

A tug on her hair. Little eyes looking up at her, worried. Scared.

Angel started to pull her along. Fluttershy followed in a daze, only able to comprehend the now.

Something crunched underfoot. Looking down and lifting her foot, she could see the bones of Blue Jay she had crushed. Bits of burnt feathers still clung greedily to the bones. The eye, saved perhaps by a lucky blink, stared up at her.

And Angel continued to pull her along.

Pinkie Pie bounced excitedly, “Oh, come on, Fluttershy! I made you a big cake for your birthday! You’ve got to see it!”

Trying to wipe the sleep from her eyes, Fluttershy yawned, “Pinkie Pie? How did you get in?”

“That doesn’t matter right now, silly! What matters is your cake!” The pink pony couldn’t contain herself and started bouncing around the room.

Fluttershy couldn’t help but smile and say, “Ok, Pinkie Pie, I’m hurrying! What kind of cake is it?” She slipped out of bed and stretched her wings.

Pinkie had stopped her bouncing and was staring out the window in silence.

“Pinkie Pie?” the pegasus said, worriedly, “What’s wrong?”

“…I’m not here…” said Pinkie Pie in a monotonous voice barely above a whisper.

More worried than ever, Fluttershy started walking towards her friend, “What are you talking about…?”

As she got within feet of her, Pinkie Pie’s face slowly turned from the window. Her skin gone, two black pits staring from her skull, she replied, “Pinkie Pie is not in at the moment, please leave a message at the beep!”

The window exploded inward. A wave a heat unlike anything Fluttershy had ever experienced rushed into the room, forcing her up to slam into the wall. Pinkie Pie crashed into the wall beside her, her body now devoid of skin and muscle. As she hit the wall, her bones splintered and disintegrated. The heat caught everything ablaze. For a split second, Fluttershy saw hell.

“Beeeeeeeeeeee-”

3 years, 2 months after meteor…

“-eeeeeeeeeep!”

Startled, Fluttershy lashed out at the alarm clock. When it hit the ground it came apart into a million pieces. The clatter it caused startled her again. Rolling out of bed, blanket still tangled around her, the pegasus stumbled across the dark room to the light switch. She flipped it on and turned in an instant.

The room was empty.

Quiet rain was all Fluttershy heard as she slowly calmed herself down.

It must have been the early afternoon, yet the rainclouds continued to block out the sun and casted her world in perpetual gloom. With the rain had come nightmares. So vivid, so real…

Laughing softly to herself, Fluttershy said out loud, “Dreams aren’t real...nothing like that could ever happen here…”

A thunderclap made her jump a few inches. Thunder had come with the rain as well.

Sighing, Fluttershy untangled the blanket from herself and walked back to the bed. Because of her tossing and turning, Angel had decided to sleep in his home outside. She had protested, but eventually gave in. He had awoken on the floor one too many times.

Though her main protest to him sleeping outside was the cold, the rain did not actually bring cold with it. Instead, it seemed the summer did not wish to relinquish its grip on the world and continued to heat it while fall attempted to invade. Their battle caused an endless list of problems for Fluttershy.

“At least my friends are here to help me,” she said quietly as she finished fixing her bed. There was a small amount of sarcasm in her voice. The rain infected her friend’s moods, making it hard to get them out of their homes and around town.

Bed fixed, Fluttershy crawled back in, leaving the light on. She closed her eyes and forced herself into sleep.

From a deep shadow beneath her bed peered two red, glowing eyes.

When Fluttershy awoke she was alarmed to find half the day already gone. Breaking her alarm clock hadn’t even occurred to her tired mind until she noticed how bright the day was. “Going to have to go into town for another one…”

...which was a problem all its own. She splashed water on her face and tried to think of a way to get the electronic device home without rain touching it. Some sort of weather proof bag…

“Rarity would have one of those!” Fluttershy exclaimed, “I’ll see her after I tend to the field!”

She looked down at Angel…at the floor. Angel hadn’t woken yet. He was still outside in his little home. Sometimes she forgot.

A shadow laughed at her. She dropped a bottle of shampoo to cover up the sound. It opened up. Water poured out. The town had run out of shampoo years ago. The shadow laughed more. Fluttershy ignored it while cleaning up her mess.

Outside, the rain continued. It wasn’t a heavy rain, just a constant one. In a way that made it worse. She was starting to forget life without it.

After a few more minutes of morning routine and breakfast she was out the door and rushing towards Sweet Apple Acres. A green raincoat, with patches of other colored raincoats attached, kept the rain from soaking her. Cresting a hill with a lone tree, she stared out onto the field she had labored over for countless hours.

Though the rain had started relatively recently, enough had come down to drown the crops completely. No matter how much she tried to channel the water away more came pouring down.

A rain drop ran from her eye down her cheek. Fluttershy wiped it away quickly.

“No time for tears?”

“It was rain,” she responded to the pony sitting in the shadow of the lone tree.

“The crops are dead, what will you do now?”

“Applejack said we can grow them in the greenhouse till the rain passes. The seeds I planted just need time to grow…”

“As I recall you had that large dinner for everyone following the running of the leaves…a shame you used up so much food on those who can’t partake…”

Before the shadow pony finished, Fluttershy was rushing down the hill towards the field. The channel still wasn’t complete and was flooding. There was no time to worry about things that already happened. She had to deal with the things right in front of her.

The aqueduct she had built was still flowing and needed to be shut off at the source in the Everfree Forest, while the channel around the field needed finishing. She decided on the channel first.

Using her mouth to pick up a shovel where it leaned against a fence post, the pegasus got to work. The rain mocked the stamina she had built up over the years. It laughed as it managed to slip past the raincoat and soak her hair and fur. Minutes felt like hours. Hours felt like days.

I have to keep going; I can’t stop just because it’s difficult.

Fluttershy repeated the motto she had recently adopted. It had gotten her through the initial shock of losing so much food so fast. It has gotten her out of bed when Angel wasn’t there to greet her in the mornings. When her friends said they were busy and didn’t want to go out. When the rain wouldn’t stop.

She bit down harder on the wood between the two ends of the shovel in her mouth. It was bad for her teeth, she knew that. The knowledge didn’t stop her digging. The channel was almost complete. A little more and-

Her teeth bit through the wood completely. In an instant her brain understood and cataloged that keeping a wooden tool outside in the rain would cause it to deteriorate faster. In the future she would make sure to keep all her tools inside the shed where they belonged. The rain was yet still a new force to her, it would obviously have its surprises.

In the now, splinters jabbed her gums and tongue as her teeth slammed together. It was such a shock that she lost her footing in the mud and slipped into the channel sideways. Her head went below the muddy water; her mouth opened in a scream of pain; muddy water rushed in.

Fluttershy flailed for footing. When she finally got it and crawled out of the channel, she was soaked to the bone. Shakingly getting to her knees, she coughed up mud. Red spotted the green below her.

Her gums. Her bloody gums. They hurt so badly. How would she fix this? Was there enough medicine? Was there any for gums specifically? The nurse would know, nurse…what was her name…she was white and had a red cutie mark…

“Something the matter, dear?”

She always worked at the hospital, seemingly never taking a break…she was there when the Cake’s had their baby…what was her name…

“Fine day to be standing in the rain, isn’t it?”

Every time Fluttershy needed some medicine she went to her and got a prescription…by Celestia what was her name...

“I bet Angel is sitting in his little home crying for his mama while you splash around. Though I guess he wouldn’t cry much before making a new scarf-”

“WILL YOU SHUT UP?!”

The scream echoed across the hills. It cut through the feeble attempt the rain made at noise. Fluttershy almost couldn’t believe she had yelled.

Almost.

Othershy smiled a few feet away from her. The rain did nothing to her. That fact alone riled Fluttershy more than anything else. The rain sapped her friend’s strengths yet left this pony unfazed.

“That makes three, you know,” the shadow pony said nonchalantly, “Three outbursts in three weeks. My, my, you aren’t feeling too well, are you?” Her smile never wavered. Her lips didn’t move either, but Fluttershy saw them move. Fluttershy saw her mock her. Every day. Every. Day.

Fluttershy’s front left hoof began to grind against the mud, digging a little furrow. It was a tick she hadn’t noticed she had developed until a week ago when Othershy pointed it out to her. She did it when angry, when upset, when shy. But lately, only when she was angry. And only around Othershy. Because Othershy was always around now. The constant overcast made the entire world a giant shadow.

There was nowhere Fluttershy could get away from her shadow.

“…Red Heart,” the pegasus said and turned away from the shadow pony. The hospital wasn’t far from the fields. Nurse Red Heart would have everything she needed there. She always did. Fluttershy started off.

“Of course she will, you put all the medicine out in easy reach.”

Ignore her. She doesn’t know what she is talking about.

“You’ll walk in, say, ‘Um, would it be alright if I got some medicine?’, and then pretend the doctors are giving you medicine while you slip around the counter and take what you need.”

Fluttershy closed her eyes and kept walking. She knew the trail by heart. There had been many accidents over the years. Just little accidents. Nothing major ever happened in Ponyville.

“Except when everypony died.”

Fluttershy stopped.

“Oh, you didn’t hear? There was this big meteor and then POOF! All dead!”

There was a moment, just a moment, where the black darkness of her closed eyes turned red. It was just a moment. It doesn’t happen a lot. It’s fine. She’s fine.

Fluttershy forced one hoof in front of the other and hastened her journey to the hospital. Othershy made sure to keep pace, quietly chasing her with a single word.

“Poof, poof, poof.”

0 months, 0 years after meteor…

The roof was on fire.

She recalled a get together once where Pinkie Pie had said they would party till the roof caught fire. It was funny. She started to laugh. Angel looked at her frightened. His paw was shaking.

“What’s wrong, Angel?” she asked, “Do you not get the joke?”

His tiny rabbit head shook side to side.

“Awww, well I’ll explain it when we’re inside, ok?”

Tiny head shook again.

“Hmm? You don’t want to go inside?”

Mouth opened as if to speak, then closed. Angel’s eyes were glistening giants.

“We can stay out here if you like. It’s a beautiful day!” Fluttershy spun a circle and took in her surroundings.

The charred body of a pegasus pony landed a few yards away from her with a crunch. Fluttershy jumped and backed away from it in fright. Angel stepped protectively in front of her. Eyes darting, the burnt pegasus twitched her legs. Yellow offset eyes found Fluttershy.

Derpy tried to speak. Revealed skin around her throat cracked open and blood oozed out.

Angel vomited. Fluttershy screamed and tried to run.

She ran face first into a tree. Darkness came.

It was dark when Fluttershy’s eyes reopened. It was a moonless night. The fires were still burning far off but nearby they had all gone out. Total darkness greeted her.

“A…Angel?”

A shuffling from the dark jolted her to her hooves. She couldn’t see a thing. Angel wouldn’t be far. He wouldn’t leave her. Not when everypony…

“Angel!? Where are you?!”

Blinding light. Fluttershy staggered backwards, eyes shut against it. A small, soft something touched her leg. She flinched away. It touched her again. This time she cracked open her eyes and saw Angel next to her holding a flashlight. He must have just found it. He wouldn’t have left her alone in the dark.

She pushed away the negative thought and wrapped him in a hug. “Are you alright?” she asked.

He nodded, little head nuzzling her cheek as he did. Fluttershy smiled. With him by her side she could overcome anything. “Come on, let’s go inside.” It was a warm summer night.

Just like any other.

3 years, 2 months after meteor…

It was late. The hospital was closed.

Fluttershy shivered in the rain.

The hospital was staying open late.

“Why?”

Because there was a carriage accident from the rain. Nurses and doctors were on staff and willing to help anypony coming in.

“Isn’t that convenient.”

Fluttershy slammed the hospital door behind her. Nurse Red Heart stood behind the counter of the waiting room, ready to meet her. It was dark inside, no doubt due to a power outage from the weather. The weather caused a lot of problems lately.

“Good evening,” Fluttershy smiled, happy to see a friendly face, “I was wondering if I could get some medicine for some cuts in my mouth.” She found it hurt to talk but did not let that stop her.

Nurse Red Heart looked quite busy with paperwork, so Fluttershy decided to help herself. Often she had come to the hospital to help her friends when they were in need. Because of that, she knew where all the different kinds of medicine were kept.

There was an electric powered lantern on the desk, unlit. Fluttershy turned it on as she walked by. No need for anypony to trip in a hospital, she thought. The irony alone would be fatal.

The light revealed empty shelves in decaying cabinets. Only the very bottom held bottles of medicine anymore. Fluttershy leaned in to read the tiny labels. Some were too faded to make out.

A yellow capped bottle caught her eye. The yellow caps were pain killers with magical healing added. She carefully picked the bottle up between her front hooves and opened it with her mouth. When she placed the cap on the shelf she noticed it was bloody. She had read somewhere that gum wounds bled quite a lot.

Without hesitation, Fluttershy shook two of the pills into her mouth and swallowed. She had hated pills before. Now, while she still didn’t like them, she could get the process over with quickly. The effects were instant. The yellow pony smiled as the pain ebbed in her mouth. The pills were a boon she did not know what she would do without. She never dwelled on it.

After replacing the cap and setting the bottle back, Fluttershy said goodbye to Nurse Red Heart and walked to the double doors to outside. She opened one a crack. Nothing but rain greeted her.

Endless rain.

She sighed, “Back to work,” and started off towards Sweet Apple Acres.

Rain falling on her head

Silly pony, you’ll be dead

Endless rain atop her head

Run and run or you’ll be dead

Time flowed on. There was no day. There was no night. Only shades of gray.

Fluttershy was forced to use her hooves to dig the rest of the channel. The mud seemed to come alive and crawl up her legs as she dug. It filled her raincoat. It slowed her movements. It did nothing to her resolve.

It didn’t matter how long it took. There was no time anymore. The time had ended when the rain began. It washed away her food. It washed away her friend’s emotions. It washed it all away.

Othershy was near. Fluttershy didn’t need to see her to know. The feeling she had when the shadowy pony was near was enough.

Like a burning fire from within.

Though she was close by, Othershy did not disturb her. The channel got done. Relief washed over Fluttershy as the water ran away from the field and into the nearby creek. It had been dry previously.

Eyes closed.

It had flowed low previously. Now the water level would rise, but not much. Things would be fine.

Eyes open.

Othershy a foot away, red eyes unblinking, staring with the intensity of a thousand suns. Deep in those eyes was Fluttershy’s reflection. Or maybe it wasn’t in her eyes. Maybe it was all over her.

The sudden appearance of the shadowy pony was so common now that Fluttershy was no longer surprised by it. “Hello, Othershy!” she greeted her warmly, past transgressions forgotten. They were hours old. Or minutes. Or seconds. Perhaps they had never happened at all.

Fluttershy’s eye twitched.

A smile crept onto Othershy’s face. “You should get some sleep,” she said softly, “You look tired.”

“Well, I did do a lot of work today,” the yellow pony responded. Weariness started to creep in as adrenaline from working wore off. “I could use a rest. I’ll see you tomorrow!” Smiling, Fluttershy trotted to the path leading to her cottage.

Othershy watched, smiling. Fluttershy slipped and slid but never fell. It was as if she were walking normally the entire time.

“Angel, I’m-”

Luck ran out. Slip. Crash.

If not for the plush doormat she had lain out, Fluttershy would have knocked herself out. Knocked out half inside and half out in the rain. A perfect way to die.

A shiver ran through her body. She never thought like that before. There was no reason to. No one died in Ponyville. There was always medicine, always cures.

Fluttershy got to her hooves and closed the door behind her. Mud. On the carpet, on the door. She would trail it back all the way to the tub. Months, maybe even weeks ago, she would have cared. But Fluttershy wanted a warm bath, and damn the consequences.

Angel watched her from the couch. His big eyes and bigger smile never faltered. Smiling back, she reached out to pick him up but recoiled. Mud. Some things were too precious to dirty, no matter how tired she was. “I’ll come get you when I’m clean,” she said, resisting the urge to kiss his forehead.

Around the corner. Off with the raincoat. Into the tub.

Water rose. Pony sank down on her back. Eye’s closed.

Baths always felt wonderful to Fluttershy. She loved to swim in the lakes with the fishes as well, though not as recently. Not since she could remember, actually. Maybe she would head to the lake tomorrow…

But no, she couldn’t. The aqueduct needed to be turned off. The journey alone would take a day going and a day coming back, so deep was it in Everfree. Fluttershy would take Angel, of course, and maybe Rainbow Dash or Twilight. They walked much slower in the rain, but the extra company would be worth the added time.

Eyes still closed, Fluttershy reached around for the soap. She found it floating over her. Her eye’s opened as she brought it to her face.

In her hooves was a tiny bunny skull dripping crimson into the blood she lied in.

With a gasp of surprise and fear, Fluttershy dropped the soap into the tub. The slightly muddy water rose and fell. It settled slowly. Her heart kept beating at a hundred miles an hour.

Angel would miss his bath that night.

There was no day. There was no night.

Was the moon full? Was the sun shining?

Fluttershy sat in an open field, flowers blooming all around her. Blooming reds and yellows, swaying like flames. An endless sea of flames all around her and she safe upon the hill.

Was the sun hiding from its mistake? Did it regret what it had wrought? Was it responsible at all? Or was it the fault of its keeper?

“Where am I?” a voice like hers said.

“Possibly dreaming,” Twilight Sparkle responded, flipping a page in her book. She lay within the flames of the flowers. Her eyes were focused completely on her book.

“Dreaming?” asked Fluttershy. “How would I know?”

Twilight gave her an exasperated look, “Does this look like the world you know?”

“I…”

“It wouldn’t,” the unicorn slammed her book shut, “Not since you defaced it.”

“No! Nothing is wrong! This is just like my world!”

“Your dancing on the edge of the abyss is starting to upset us,” Twilight said as she rose, book levitating before her. “You should know to let the dead rest where they lay.”

The flames of the flowers rose. No flowers, only flames. Purple pony among them began to burn.

“Join us…”

Moisture running down her cheek. Was she crying?

Another drop hit her. Fluttershy opened her eyes. The ceiling was leaking. She looked over at the alarm clock that wasn’t there. No time.

No day. No night.

Shakes overcame her. Was Twilight right? No, it was a dream, Twilight was at her home in town-

Where she stood a mass of bones shoddily glued and wired together-

Reading a book most likely, or studying some ancient text. In fact, I bet she wanted to see her right then!

Fluttershy slipped out of bed, ignoring her body’s protests. The previous day’s work, even for her at that time, would take time to heal. Her mouth also felt raw. The medicine had worn off.

She walked to the bathroom, hit the lights, and looked at herself in the mirror. Bags had started to creep in under her bloodshot eyes. So many animals had come to her like this before that she could diagnose it instantly. Insomnia.

She laughed, “Nooooo, no pony could get insomnia in Ponyville! That’s only for silly little animals…” Fluttershy opened her mouth and examined her gums. They were red but on the mend.

Smiling, she skipped towards the stairs. Twilight was at the library waiting for her. They had talked the previous day about going into Everfree Forest to turn off the aqueduct and Fluttershy just needed to confirm it with her.

Back out into the rain.

0 months, 0 years after meteor…

The warmth of the sun woke Fluttershy. It speared though the broken window. It felt good.

How many days? Four? Five?

“Angel? Baby?”

Hopping. And there he was, spots of dirt and something darker stained his fur. They couldn’t get the water to run. Even she was dirty. It was starting to bug her.

“What were you up to, Angel?” she asked with a yawn.

He stared at her, something in his eyes dying. He pointed to something out of her sight. She looked.

Derpy Hooves’ corpse lay rotting yards away.

Angel had his ears covered before Fluttershy screamed. It came back to her. Every day he would show her. Every day he would plead that they leave.

And every day she ignored his pleas.

After the screaming and crying came the wandering. The world as she knew it was dead. The evidence was all around her. She would visit Ponyville, her friends, the shops. Tears would flow throughout. Angel accompanied her twice to make sure she would be safe. After that he allowed her to wander alone.

Fluttershy knew what he was doing, going back and forth from town to her cottage, carrying this and that. He was packing for a long journey. To find a new home. It was a truth she could not ignore. Her home was gone.

But today was different. Fluttershy did not wander today. She stood over Derpy, staring down at her burnt body. It was engraved in her mind. Every crease of flesh, every black spot of melted fur.

And it enraged her.

Fluttershy didn’t want to see it anymore. Every day she saw it. Tomorrow she would not.

Leaning down, she grabbed Derpy’s tail with her teeth and tried to drag her away. The motion caused Derpy’s legs to limply drag as the body moved. And Fluttershy stopped.

“…Derpy?”

The body was still.

Peeking out from behind a tree, Angel watched her.

3 years, 2 months after meteor…

“This kind of paint wasn’t meant to last in the rain, you know.”

Yellow hoof ran down the closed door. Drops of water raced around it. Paint slowly ran from the warping wood.

“You should use a magical paint. They have that, you know.”

Pink hair was plastered to her head and face. No raincoat. It only slowed her down. She shivered. Twilight was inside, but had come out. They spoke in the rain.

Fluttershy continued, “I could get some for you, if you want me to. I’m good at painting…” She turned to her friend.

There was no pony there.

Twilight was inside. Too heavy to move in the rain. Her muscles ached.

Too heavy a burden.

Fluttershy opened the door and walked in, dripping. Othershy stood inside by the door, watching. Twilight Sparkle stood a few meters away, silent.

“Hello, Twilight!” Fluttershy said, forcibly putting a skip in her step. “How have you been? Sorry I haven’t come around lately…”

Her hoof rose to Twilight’s jaw and froze. Her friend’s purple eyes stared into hers, confused. Why was Fluttershy touching her?

“Oh, um, sorry…” Fluttershy lowered her leg and waited for Twilight to say something.

She continued to stare.

“Um…did I upset you? I’m sorry…”

Silence.

“Really, I’m sorry Twilight…please forgive me…”

A drop of water leaked through the roof and hit the floor across the room.

“Please, Twilight, say something…”

The presence of Othershy grew more pronounced.

“Twilight?!” Fluttershy grabbed her friend, “Why won’t you answer me?! I said I’m sorry! What do you want from me?!”

Twilight’s jaw opened slightly from the movement. She was shocked at Fluttershy’s outburst.

“I don’t want you to leave!” Tears streaked down her face. “Why don’t you understand?! We were supposed to be friends forever!” the pegasus screamed, “YOU all left ME!”

The darkness behind her grew. Othershy raised her front legs, red eyes glowing brightly.

creak

Both Othershy and Fluttershy jumped at the sudden sound. It came from deeper in the library.

“Hello?” the pegasus called. She stepped back from Twilight and slowly walked across the room. One corner housed a heap of odds and ends, all tossed there from when Fluttershy had “cleaned”. A large machine the size and shape of a refrigerator, but with no door, dominated the center of the heap. Several steel arms jutted out of it holding colored vials. A half covered water wheel attached to the side of it came to a slow halt.

Fluttershy was transfixed by it for a moment before a drop of water from the roof hit a cup on the end of the wheel. It dawned on her then: the leak had slowly filled up to make it move.

She turned to Twilight to ask what the machine was. The unicorn was facing away from her. Fluttershy closed her mouth. Of course Twilight would be upset after her outburst.

Suddenly an idea struck her. “Oh! Um, Twilight, this machine uses water, right? So it would be much better outside!” She started to dig out the machine before Twilight could answer. Her unicorn friend was often so consumed with her science and experiments that she lost herself in thought. That must have been happening now. If she could help finish the experiment than Twilight would be free to talk again!

Othershy watched silently, the darkness receding.

It didn’t take long for Fluttershy to dig the machine out. It was already placed on a cart so she managed to wheel it outside without any problems. Her muscles ached but she pressed on.

Oh, to hear her friend speak again! It felt like ages since Twilight had been free from her work to talk to her. Just need to get this machine out in the rain where it could work…

Fluttershy stepped back from the contraption after pushing it into the middle of the road outside. Rain had started the wheel turning as soon as it exited the library and sound could be heard from inside it. Squeaking and electrical sounds. They made her tired head ache.

“Um…I’ll come back later and see how it’s going, ok, Twilight?” she said at the open door to the library. Inside, Twilight stared past her to the machine.

Soaking wet, Fluttershy turned and started walking into town, thoughts of asking Twilight to accompany her through Everfree lost.

“Today’s forecast is rain! Followed by rain, and some rain with a chance of-”

An alarm clock smashed into the wall inches away from Othershy. It cracked and fell apart. Othershy looked down at it a moment and then back to Fluttershy.

“Rain.”

The pegasus’ eyes were bloodshot and itchy. She imagined she looked just like Othershy right then. The thought further enraged her. “Get away from me!” Fluttershy screamed.

The shadowy pony raised her hoof in mock hurt, “But, Fluttershy, don’t you want me to be your friend?” She laughed and sauntered around the clock store, “I thought everypony was your friend?”

Fluttershy turned away and continued her search for a new alarm clock, seething. She could hear Othershy continue her weather forecast. The sound of the rain that she normally blocked out seemed so much louder right then.

Why wouldn’t it stop? Never before had it rained for so long. When would it end? What could she do to stop it?

Just shut it off.

She froze. The aqueduct?

Shut it off and the rain will stop.

But…it was deep in Everfree…she couldn’t make the trip in one day…

There is no day…

“…there is no night,” Fluttershy muttered. The room around her twisted one way and then the other. Floral wallpaper peeled in slow motion. Clocks far away ticked on and on.

“I need to shut off the water.”

Her legs carried her past Othershy’s ear to ear grin. Outside…

1 month, 0 years after meteor...

…into the warm summer's day.

The fires that had sprung up from the flash of heat hadn’t consumed many buildings. The clock shop was amazingly secure after the disaster. Fluttershy trotted towards her home with the alarm clock she had found secured in her mouth.

Angel had given up pleading with her to leave. He had, however, tried to move Derpy away. It had become the new argument between them.

The little bunny argued how it was not right to keep the dead body around. Fluttershy tried to explain how having the other pony around made her feel but she couldn’t. It didn’t even make sense to her. Slowly, she was starting to not care if it made sense or not.

Fluttershy found her friend on the path halfway to Ponyville. Her body was decomposing rapidly in the daily heat. The yellow pony sighed and placed the alarm clock lightly on the side of the road, “Oh, Angel…”

Bending, Fluttershy carefully dragged the corpse back to her cottage.

Hours later…

The front door to the cottage opened quietly. Angel carried a sack on his back filled with food he had found in other pony’s homes. He had been making runs constantly to make sure he and Fluttershy were fed. His eyes were downcast.

When he looked up he was startled to find Fluttershy sitting on a chair facing the door. Her eyes locked onto his. Her smile betrayed something he never thought he would see in her.

“Hello, Angel baby,” she said sweetly. “I found our friend, Derpy, on the road to town. She wasn’t feeling well so I brought her over to rest.”

Angel sighed and dropped the sack he carried. The usual…

“But she is just so hyper…”

Angel’s ear’s perked up. He looked at Fluttershy again. This time it wasn’t hard to see it in her eyes.

“…she just loves to fly, no matter how tired she is…”

Something small fell to the floor between them. From the ceiling.

Angel kept his eyes on Fluttershy. He didn’t want to look up.

Fluttershy learned towards him and held out her arms, “Shhh, it’s OK, Angel. Mama just wants to help all her friends feel better. Derpy wanted to fly. But the others might want to play games and sing and dance…we can help them together…come to mama…”

Backpedaling, Angel tripped on the sack he had dropped. He landed on his back and stared up…

3 years, 2 months after meteor…

…into Derpy’s empty sockets. Fluttershy had forgotten all about her. It had taken hours to attach the pegasus to the ceiling like that. She had had flesh when Fluttershy had first put her up. Over time it had mostly peeled away.

“…she’s flying…”

“Of course she is, dear,” Rarity said, gently putting Fluttershy’s coat over her. “Take this before you go back out or you’ll catch a cold.”

Fluttershy looked at her friend, tears coming to her eyes, “Am I dreaming again?”

Rarity smiled back, eyes sad, “It doesn’t matter. You have to go turn off the water.”

“Will you come with me? I don’t want to go alone…”

The unicorn looked away, “I can’t…I’m sorry.”

Tears fell from Fluttershy’s eyes. Quietly, she adjusted the raincoat and walked back outside.

Time passed. She wondered if it mattered how long. Hunger crept up on her. She paused along the path to eat some dried fruit she carried under her wing. Soggy.

The gurgling of the aqueduct could be heard through the trees. It rain parallel to the path she was currently on. Fluttershy looked back the way she had come…

1 month, 0 years after meteor...

…and saw Angel waiting with food. The trip had taken her longer then she had thought it would. She hadn’t taken any food.

“Oh, thank you so much, Angel!” Fluttershy said as she practically collapsed and started eating the vegetables the little bunny had brought out for her.

Angel looked at her expectedly. She hadn’t told him where she was going or even that she WAS going.

Smiling, “There was just something I had to do, that’s all. I’m sorry I made you worry.”

The answer didn’t sit well with Angel, but after he made it clear she should tell him where and when she was going out, he let her eat in peace. She understood the unsaid question of his. Deep inside he still wished to leave, no matter how much she tried to convince him staying was the better option.

“You made sure to feed all the ponies that were hurt while I was out, right, Angel?”

He stiffened. The question had come out of nowhere. Fluttershy didn’t truly even understand why she had asked it. Of course the other ponies wouldn’t eat…but if Angel played along, maybe…

The bunny looked like he wanted to be somewhere else right then. Still, in awkward pantomime, he told her the others hadn’t been hungry.

Concerned, “It might be some sort of stomach flu.”

Angel just nodded, eyes downcast. He didn’t like doing this.

Fluttershy found she didn’t care what he wanted. This was for the best.

3 years, 2 months after meteor…

A slight darkening of the clouds signified night. Or an overly overcast day. Or an eclipse.

Fluttershy turned off the aqueduct by removing the half covered waterwheel she had installed to catch the rain and power it. The solar panels she had ripped from some houses in town were still active, but useless in this weather.

The wheel wasn’t heavy, but her state of tiredness made it feel like lead. She nearly fell face first into the spring. It had risen from the rain but not enough to threaten the waterway she had built.

She did manage to get the wheel away from the water before falling atop it. The larger wheel that moved the water from the spring to the aqueduct came to a halt. Constant rain would continue to flood the water path, but at least she wouldn’t be the main cause of her problems now.

Moving the wheel reminded her of just how tired she was. She desperately needed to get home and sleep. On wobbly legs she tried to make her way back home.

“You went the wrong way,” Rainbow Dash said. She lay on her back next to the cave entrance. Long boards of wood had been put over it, as if to keep something in. Nearly the entire entrance was sealed. “Nearly,” said the rainbow-maned pony. She pointed her hoof at a gap at the bottom of the seal.

Fluttershy stared at it, “I didn’t have enough wood…I thought I had had enough, but I just needed one more piece…and Angel wouldn’t let me go back and finish…”

“What did you put in there anyways?”

Fluttershy looked at Rainbow Dash confused.

Sighing, “It’s a dead end in there, you know? So why did you board it up? Seems like a waste of time to me…”

Head shaking back and forth, “It was important…I…don’t remember…”

“Then we should open it back up and see!” said Rainbow, sitting up.

“NO!” Fluttershy screamed as she took an involuntary step back. Rainbow Dash looked shocked at her, then hurt. “I…I just want to go home…” she said. Before her friend could respond, Fluttershy turned and ran as fast as she could down the path.

“You have to face it someday, coward!” Rainbow Dash yelled from the cave.

2 months, 0 years after meteor…

More string. More glue. More wire.

“Angel, I’m going out for more…medical supplies,” she called behind her as she left the cottage at a trot. The forest around her home sounded so quiet. “All sleeping,” she said to no pony.

Fluttershy stopped at the fork in the road. One path lead into town while the other lead into Everfree Forest. Everfree seemed far less foreboding when all the trees were dead and the sun could shine down it all. Perhaps she’d have a picnic with Angel there this week.

“Ah,” she shook her head, “Got to stay focused. Applejack is almost fully healed! Then she can help me with the field!” Smiling, Fluttershy trotted towards Ponyville.

Twilight Sparkle smiled as Fluttershy approached. Her friend seemed to be all smiles lately. “Twilight,” she asked, “Do you happen to have a book on pony anatomy?”

The head of Twilight, tied to the outside of the library, was silent.

“Inside? Oh, thank you so much!” Fluttershy opened the door carefully and slipped into her friend’s home.

Inside, the library was a mess. Books lay everywhere, most open, and some sort of machine dominated the middle of the lobby. Sighing, Fluttershy started to tidy up a little. Twilight must have been trying to read up on everything about the meteor before it was stopped. By Celestia. Who was very busy in Canterlot. Where they were in quarantine to stop the outbreak of a virus.

Fluttershy stopped and closed her eyes. She had never been incredibly imaginative and it was starting to wear her out. Her foot knocked against a book. “One Thousand and One Nightmare Nights?” the title read.

Flipping it open to the first page, she began to read. Though she never had a great imagination, she did learn quickly when she put her mind to it.

After consuming a few stories and tidying up a little more, she walked out of Twilight’s with a pony anatomy book tucked under her wing. She waved to Twilight as she left, “See you later!”

Twilight Sparkle smiled back.

3 years, 2 months after meteor…

Fluttershy could almost see herself walking out of Twilight’s, waving goodbye to the skull, clutching the book under her wing tightly. Somewhere along the way to Ponyville’s center square she had lost her coat. Cold shakes rocked her from head to hoof.

“You should have listened to Rarity, darlin,” Applejack said, leaning against the side of Twilight’s house. “You’re gunna get sick out here.”

“I’ve survived worse…”

“You don’t have to…”

Applejack closed her eyes and looked away.

“It could all end, here and now.”

“It’ll be quick,” her friend assured her.

In her voice.

In her head.

A clicking from the square.

“The rain will stop,” Fluttershy muttered, “It can’t go on forever…nothing lasts forever…”

Pinkie Pie, from the entrance for Sugar Cube Corner, “All shows end eventually.”

Twilight, from the library, “It’s how things were meant to be. There’s no changing fate.”

Rarity, down the street, “Sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to for the ones we love.”

Rainbow Dash, lounging under the overhang of a nearby home, “You’ve made us wait long enough. It’s time for you to get it over with.”

Applejack, “They’re right, Fluttershy, and you know it.”

Rain caressed her lips. Salty. Tears. “You’re right,” she whispered, “You’re all right.”

The gray around her deepened to black. A pony emerged from the darkness behind her, red eyes ablaze. Fluttershy felt her hungry gaze.

She continued, “I wanted there to be a reason I was left alive…some reason for all of this…but there wasn’t…so I made one. I pretended Ponyville was fine, that everypony was fine. But…I can’t…anymore…”

Fluttershy fell to her knees and sobbed. Othershy approached, grinning ear to ear. The other ponies watched patiently. Soon, they would be together again.

The clicking from the square grew louder.

Fluttershy turned and watched her dark doppelganger approach. Othershy said sweetly, “It won’t hurt a bit.”

“…it will…”

The clicking became too loud to ignore now. Both Fluttershy and Othershy turned to the machine in the center of the square. Electricity arced up and down its frame. A few lightning bolts shot down to slam into it. It nearly toppled but somehow kept upright.

“What in Celestia’s name is that?!” Othershy cried out over the sound the machine was making. It was louder than anything Fluttershy had ever heard. No…it was as loud as…

The six steel arms jutting from it all began to glow different colors. Purple, pink, blue, yellow, orange, white. “The Elements of Harmony,” Fluttershy said, “Twilight said she could extract some of their power…”

“What?!” the dark pony screamed, “That can’t be true! And even if it was how could you know that?” She pushed Fluttershy over into the mud with her last word.

But when Fluttershy looked up at her, it was in defiance, “I know my friends better than anypony else, even you. Twilight was planning this for after the meteor-”

“No!” Othershy spat back, “You weren’t there!” More lightning thundered down. A heavy wind blew through all of Ponyville. Fluttershy’s friend’s all did their best to keep from flying away.

“Twilight told me all about it beforehand!” Fluttershy had to scream to be heard over the noise all around her.

“You…you changed your memories…” red eyes grew wide. “But why do all of this?! Why pretend to fall?!”

“Because there was only one thing I could think of to get rid of you.”

A rainbow wave of energy pulsed out from the machine. It washed over the mud, the broken buildings, the bones of long lost ponies, and changed them. It hit Othershy and ripped some of her shadowy body from her. The pony kept from being pulled along the wave by grabbing onto Fluttershy with her front legs.

“You can’t get rid of me! I am a part of you!” Spittle rain down Othershy’s maw as she screamed her words.

Fluttershy’s legs were dug into the mud to keep herself from being blown away, “I don’t need you! I have my friends!”

Grass started to grow again. The buildings around the two ponies started to rebuild. Flesh took form on skeletal figures.

“This is a lie!” The machine had started to glow brighter in preparation of another pulse, “I will be back and show you the truth! That nothing is as it was and can never be again!”

“Then I will use this again and show you my truth!” Fluttershy yelled as the rainbow wave washed over them again.

Othershy could hang on no longer. Her front legs released and she tumbled in the wave, disintegrating. Bits and pieces dispersed and flew in all directions. Her burning eyes were the last to go. They stared into Fluttershy’s for what seemed an eternity.

As the machine wound to a halt, Fluttershy collapsed. It was not a pleasant place to sleep. Applejack was trying to tell her so. But right then, she couldn’t help herself.

The warm rain felt nice.

One month later…

“…goooooood morning fillies and gentlecolts! Wipe those sleepies from your eyes and get up and at em! It’s looking like another rainy day, but don’t let that stop you from going out and doing your best!”

Fluttershy reached over and turned off the alarm. The voice of the radio caster always woke her up completely. Sometimes it sounded just like her voice. She smiled, “As if I would be on the radio.”

A wonderful smell preceded her as she skipped downstairs to the kitchen. Rarity was there already with a bouquet of fresh roses. “Oh, Rarity! They’re lovely!” Fluttershy said as she took them and placed them in an empty vase.

“I picked them just for you this morning, Fluttershy,” Rarity said, smiling.

“Well I’m glad you did, they really brighten up the room,” the pegasus replied, smiling back. “Let me make you some breakfast!”

The two of them chatted away over the making of, and later consumption, of breakfast. In a dark shadow in the corner of the room, two small red eyes glared out. No shadow seemed to ever fall over Fluttershy as she moved about the room. Her smile never wavered. Her joy never faltered.

But the red eyes did not cease their gazing. A single phrase repeated itself within the shadow pony’s mind.

Nothing lasts forever.

2 months, 0 years after meteor…

She found Angel right where she knew she would: atop the hill overlooking all of Ponyville. It was an amazing sight. Fluttershy couldn’t blame her bunny friend for spending so many hours up there.

“Hello, Angel,” she said politely, “I’m back from town.”

He kept staring out onto Ponyville.

Quietly, she sat down next to him and gazed out too. After a time, “I helped Twilight today. Tomorrow I’m going over to Applejack’s to help her, too. We’ll need both their helps if we want to start planting and growing. I’ve only ever grown a little garden…”

Angel kept silent, kept still. Were he not blinking she would have thought him asleep.

“I know you’re too busy to help me, Angel…but when I get everypony back on their feet, how about we have a party? I could bring everyone over and-”

Tears started to flow down Angel’s cheeks. His lower lip quivered.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Angel…I’ll just…I’ll let you have your alone time…” she turned and started to walk back down the hill. After a few hooves she turned and said quietly, “Everything will be fine, Angel, you’ll see…” and then she ran the rest of the way home.

Angel stayed on that hill longer than ever that day. A part of Fluttershy wished she could read his mind and find out what he was thinking.

Another part feared what she would find.

Chapter 8 - Winter Wrap Up: Part One

Four years, one month after meteor…

Fluttershy smiled. She laughed. She sang.

The constant rain was a testament to her never ending friendship with the ones she loved. It became a bringer of games. Splashing in the puddles with Pinkie Pie. Digging waterways with Applejack. Rarity was even designing a new line of raincoats. She called them ‘fashioncoats’.

Her friends brought her joy. The rain brought her purpose. There was never a time she wondered what she would do in a day, or where she would go, or even who she would spend time with. Her friends all shared her time equally.

A vibration in her bed woke her. Stifling a yawn, Fluttershy poked Angel in the tummy to stop his shaking, hearing a soft click. “Ok, ok, I’m up, sillyhead,” she said, smiling. Angel always made the silliest sounds in the morning.

Yawning, she wondered who would be downstairs this time. Every day one of her friends would be there to greet her, halfway into cooking something wonderful. Fluttershy would smile and help finish preparing. Her friends never ate whatever they made but that never stopped her from partaking. They made the food for her and she wouldn’t hurt their feelings by refusing.

She stumbled sleepily into the bathroom to splash some water on her face. Pipes ran down from the ceiling into the tub and sink, harnessing the rainwater when necessary. A rope beside the pipes would open the hatch on top and allow rain in. Eyes half open, she bit the rope beside the sink and pulled gently. Water slowly filled the sink. When it was halfway full, she let go of the rope and used her hooves to splash her face.

“Eep!” she cried and stepped back from the sink hurriedly. The water was freezing cold. “Did it get trapped in the pipe?” Fluttershy wondered out loud. Since she could remember, the rain had always been warm. She stared a question at the pipe jutting from the ceiling. Shaking her head, “Must be clogged…”, she toweled herself off, as awake as she was going to get.

Trotting to the staircase, she opened her wings slightly and glided down silently, hoping to catch her friend by surprise. It had taken a few tries, and bruises, to get the move down right. Smiling as her hooves hit the bottom of the steps, she slowly crept to the kitchen and peeked in.

But it was empty.

Frowning, Fluttershy stood and walked in, head swiveling left and right. No pony was there. No food was being prepared either.

Dark thoughts flittered across her mind: ponies injured, too sick to move, in dire need of help. But Fluttershy snorted, “No pony gets hurt anymore.”

Still, it was odd that after months of morning breakfasts her friends would suddenly not be there. Something must have been going on in Ponyville. With a sigh, Fluttershy began to make a salad, alone.

Fluttershy’s mood brightened as she finished the last few leaves of her salad. She had figured it out. Her friends wanted her to think they’d forgotten all about their daily breakfasts together so she would storm into Ponyville searching for them! They must have a surprise waiting for her there…

The thought of how thoughtful her friends were made her shiver with excitement. Something amazing must be set up in town, most likely in the Town Hall! Yes, that had to be it!

Tossing her bowl in the sink to be cleaned later, Fluttershy skipped across the room to where Angel sat on the couch. His little tummy jutted out slightly under the coat she had wrapped him in. He loved his little coat and refused to take it off. She smiled down at him, “Want to come into town with me today, my little Angel?” He smiled but shook his fuzzy head. The rain, no matter how warm, soaked his little coat too much for him.

Fluttershy understood and kissed his forehead, “I’ll see you later, then!” She resumed her skipping to the door, ignoring the coatrack. The warm rain no longer bothered her. Hoof raised, she threw her front door open.

Icy-cold rain and a chilling breeze immediately assaulted her.

The pegasus stumbled backwards into the house, stunned by the chill. She crept slowly to the doorway, where rain drizzled in at an angle, and stuck out her hoof. The rain that touched it sent shivers up her body. “What…?” she said softly, “Why is…”

The room around her seemed to shake for a moment. Fluttershy shut her eyes quickly and shook her head. “It’s alright, I’ll just wear my raincoat…” she said to Angel. She turned and smiled at him, “The weather’s turning a bit chilly, that’s all.”

He smiled back at her.

The raincoat kept the rain from soaking her hair but did little to fight the cold air. Though the path to Ponyville was not too long, Fluttershy found herself shivering violently halfway there.

It was an odd sensation, one she hadn’t felt in ages, and it frightened her. The thick, dark clouds only enhanced her fear. They made visibility poor, though she could have made the trip blind had she wanted to. Though, she never, ever wanted to.

At least there’s no thunder, she thought. Saying anything aloud shifted the raincoat away from her face and let in the cold. She was stuck in her own head for the time being.

After what seemed an eternity, Ponyville proper came into view. The path turned from dirt to stone. Houses on either side rose up out of the gloom. Ponies, not minding the rain one bit, chatted with one another about their days.

Fluttershy frowned. Normally she would stop and chat with any pony on her path, but the cold weather ruined that. There was no way for her to make…speak with the ponies around her outside, and it would be…inconvenient to ask them all to go inside. Staring longingly at them, it almost seemed as if they stared off into nothing…

But Fluttershy was quick to close her eyes and take a deep breath to calm herself. I don’t need to be near them, she thought, I never did…

When she opened her eyes, a wave of sound washed over her. Fluttershy shut her eyes and cried out softly. It was almost too much for her to handle and she started to reject it, but stopped herself. They were voices she hadn’t heard in so long, lost in the recesses of her mind.

But she didn’t need to hear them all.

Slowly, the far off voices faded out until only the ones nearby remained. It was hard to only focus on those nearby. She had to stare at each pony individually until their voice was picked out. The cold forced her to keep moving while she mentally worked. Some voices were harder to remember than others, some she might not have gotten right at all, but that was alright…

…took the trash out and found a bit on the floor…

…never made anything so delicious…

…that Fluttershy is so helpful…

One by one they spoke. She saw their lips move, their tongues wag, their tails shake. They all truly…

…came to life…

The Town Hall was one of the largest buildings in Ponyville. It speared the sky in the center of a grassy plaza. Fluttershy spotted it long before she was near it, even through the gloom.

Voices continued to speak around her but her thoughts trailed ahead. Were her friends really there, waiting for her? She couldn’t know. Hearing the townsponies speak again had temporarily lifted her spirits, but a cloud of worry followed her. It had been a long time since her friends had spoken without her…assistance, permanently injured as they had been by the meteor.

The events of that day seemed a lifetime ago. Looking around at ponies shopping, chatting, playing, it was hard to imagine such a tragic event had occurred at all. It was thanks to Twilight Sparkle that any pony had survived that day. Her magic had stopped the meteor from blasting everyone and everything Fluttershy knew to cinders.

The thought of such an event sent more shivers down her already shivering body.

Magic came with a cost, however. Everypony had come away injured and in need of care. Fluttershy had cared for every single one of them until they could walk. They had still needed help speaking, however, and could only do so when Fluttershy was near to help.

Yes, of course, that had been the truth for years. But now it was different. Seemingly overnight, everypony had made a miraculous recovery and regained their ability to speak on their own. The cold weather must have had a hand in it…

She stepped onto muddy grass and realized she had reached the plaza. The Town Hall loomed ahead. Lights were on inside. A little voice inside cried in dismay at the thought of leaving precious lights on overnight, but it was quickly drowned out. Of course the lights weren’t kept on overnight, she thought, no pony is that irresponsible.

The double doors to the building were closed. Running the last few meters to the overhang, Fluttershy reared up and pressed the doors open with her front hooves. Heat rushed out. She scrambled inside and slammed the doors closed before all the heat could escape.

Inside, normal candles along with magic candles that would never melt lit the Hall. The Hall was circular and the candles sparse, so only the first and second floors of were lit. High above, the ceiling was nothing but darkness. It looked like it went on and on forever.

Rain pattered against the windows, but Fluttershy ignored the sound instinctively. Another sound hit her mind, hushed voices…there! All the way across the room stood her friends: Applejack, Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie all froze in various stages of unpacking boxes. She had caught them red hoofed!

“Ah ha!” Fluttershy said as she lowered her coat’s hood, “I knew I’d find you all here!”

Her friends, obviously shocked at being found out so quickly, stayed still. “We were going to tell you, Fluttershy,” Twilight said, “But we wanted to get started as soon as possible.”

Fluttershy could feel the darkness above her churn as her friend spoke. At that moment, she would have forgiven her friend for any misdeed. Smiling wide, Fluttershy skipped over to her friends.

The boxes all appeared old and dusty. A few, including the one Rainbow Dash was leaning against, looked like they were about to fall apart. Fluttershy quickly had Rainbow Dash cease her leaning and asked, “What is all this stuff for?”

Rarity laughed softly and said, “For the gala, of course!” The box beside her was open, revealing streamers of all colors, only slightly faded.

“The gala?” Fluttershy asked, confused. “The gala is in Canterlot, isn’t it? And no pony has been allowed there in years…”

Her reminder of the event long ago served to silence the room for a moment as everypony within remembered. While the meteor caused no damage to Ponyville, it did destructive damage to Canterlot, so much so that Celestia and Luna had not been seen for years as they worked their magic to restore the city.

Fluttershy came out of their silent contemplation first, “We can’t have the gala without the princesses,” she said softly.

“Well, we’ll just have to make do,” Applejack replied with a huff, “We haven’t had ourselves a real party in ages! I think it’s high time for one, don’t you?”

Closing her eyes, Fluttershy mulled it over. She usually went along with her friend’s ideas, only occasionally putting a damper on them due to heavy rain. But this event was inside…

With a hop of excitement, “A gala is exactly what we need!”

Pinkie Pie giggled and started hopping with her. All her other friends laughed.

It was the best moment she had had in years.

Fluttershy knew it would take more than a single day of preparation before the Town Hall was fit for a gala. Unfortunately, the first day of work had to be cut short as she had forgotten to bring lunch in her rush to find her friends.

Apologizing, Fluttershy slipped on her coat and walked back out into the rain. It had lessened slightly. Before she could walk out from under the Hall’s overhang, a voice called out to her. She turned and was nose to nose with the Mayor. The glasses wearing pony stood to the side of the double doors leading in.

“Fluttershy, how good to see you!” she said with a smile. Fluttershy smiled back but stayed quiet. The Mayor already knew about the plans to use the Town Hall to house the gala, or so Rarity had said. She had added that the Mayor alluded to something in return as payment.

When it was clear Fluttershy wouldn’t respond, the Mayor continued, “I understand you girls are planning a gala in the Hall. We’ll have to close it down until the gala is prepared and occurs, you see, so I was wondering if you could do me a favor in return?”

Fluttershy tried to keep her smile but it faltered. “I don’t have much money…” she started.

But the Mayor just laughed, “Oh, no, no, dear I don’t mean money. It’s just a simple task, that’s all!” Fluttershy had her doubts but nodded, and the Mayor continued, “You live out by Everfree Forest, close to Zecora? I was wondering if you could fetch a potion she is making for me.”

Time seemed to freeze. Zecora, she thought. Fluttershy remembered everything about the zebra right then, along with the fact that she hadn’t seen heads or tails of her since…Twilight’s spell saved them all. In all her trips through Everfree Forest, she had never stumbled across Zecora’s hut nor the zebra herself. She wasn’t even sure where it was anymore…

Fluttershy opened her mouth to politely decline, but shut it just as quick. The Mayor could shut down the gala in a heartbeat if she didn’t get what she wanted. The pegasus didn’t have a choice…

“I…I’ll do it…” she squeaked out.

Smiling, the Mayor said, “Wonderful! Meet me back here when you’ve got it.”

Nodding, Fluttershy turned and walked out into the rain towards home.

“…no, no, stay still…”

Angle frowned up at her.

“I know you don’t like it, but do it for me, please?”

The rain coat covered every inch of him except for his little bunny face, which continued to frown up at her sadly. Fluttershy had tried to make him as rainproof as possible so he could accompany her into Everfree Forest, but Angel disliked it all. He wanted to stay home where it was warm and dry. And Fluttershy was getting closer and closer to agreeing with him.

But the gala meant the world to her friends, and she wouldn’t let them down. Maps of the forest were scattered all over the dining room table. Blades of grass made a trail through the woods to where Fluttershy thought Zecora’s hut was.

Angel wiggled in his thick coat wrapped in the rain coat. Fluttershy patted his head absently while staring at the map. She had spent the previous might fishing through her maps in preparation. Getting lost in Everfree wasn’t on her list of things to do that day.

The pack she wore was as waterproof as Angel. Of course, she would need to find some shelter before opening it so as not to spoil everything inside with rain. And the only reliable shelter she would find was Zecora’s hut.

Fluttershy sighed. In another time she might have been scared, but now she only felt tired. The trip would go off without a hitch, she knew that. Just as she knew the gala would. And any event afterwards.

Peace had always been her goal in life. Having everypony live in harmony was a dream she thought she would never see. But here it was, every day.

And as much as the thought worried her, peace and quiet was beginning to get…boring.

She shook her head and the thoughts within it. “This is what I wanted,” she said allowed, “This is my dream come true…”

Fluttershy slipped on her pack and went to Angel, but he wiggled away when she tried to tie him to her. She frowned, “Come on, Angel, it’s time to go.”

But his frown turned into a pout and she stopped. Sighing, “Fine,” she said, “I’ll be back soon.” She kissed him on the forehead and turned to go.

Her eyes took one quick glance at the map before she headed out the door and back into the rain.

She could imagine the sun already passed its zenith overhead, though there was no sign of it through the clouds. The day would be gone before she’d return from the forest. Her friend’s relied on her to coordinate the gala and would slow with her there.

Fluttershy just sighed. They would push back the gala if she wished it. That’s the kind of friends they were. There was no need to worry about it.

There was never any need to worry about anything.

Her hooves made fresh grooves in the dirt as trees enveloped her on every side. Everfree used to be lush, green as far as the eye could see. The rain had soaked the leaves through and, one by one, they had fallen off. Now the trees looked like dragon talons reaching into the sky.

Fluttershy wished Angel was with her. Though he rarely responded to her on their trips, just having him there was comforting.

Her mind raced ahead to Zecora’s hut. How long had it been now? How long since the meteor? Though she knew years had passed, Fluttershy had never bothered to count them. Would it even still be there?

Had Zecora, so far from Twilight’s protective magic, survived?

Fluttershy snorted and shook her head. Survive? Of course she did. Even without Twilight’s magic, Zecora would have found a way.

A shiver ran through Fluttershy. She looked to the side and saw, in a dark shadow, two red eyes staring at her. Othershy had been content to watch and wait for a long time now. She’d been poking her head out every day for a week, however. It unnerved Fluttershy, like the shadowy pony knew something she didn’t and was waiting for it to happen.

But she wasn’t able to dwell on those thoughts as a structure came into view. It was a tall, simple hut. The meteor’s touch had scorched it black along one side but it looked little worse for wear. Whatever it was made from hadn’t burned.

Letting out a sigh of relief at the sight, Fluttershy opened her mouth to announce herself. The door to the hut opened inward slightly and Fluttershy’s mouth shut tight. But no pony emerged.

Now more frightened than relieved, Fluttershy walked slowly up to the hut. Behind her she could feel Othershy’s gaze. Swallowing her fear, the pegasus ran the last few feet and pushed the door completely open.

The hut was a mess inside. Very little light made it through the thick, dusty windows. Glass bottles had shattered under the heat and spilt their boiling contents onto the shelves and floor, staining them strange colors. The masks and fetishes adorning the walls had a charred look like the outside of the house. Even the cauldron in the center of the room had cracked. Half the hut was shrouded in shadow. From where Fluttershy stood in the entrance, she couldn’t see into the next room at all.

“Hello?” Fluttershy called softly. She was now convinced the wind had opened the door, but Zecora should still be inside. What if she was hurt? “Zecora? It’s me, Fluttershy.”

No response.

How did Zecora speak again? Rhymes? “Ah…um…” Fluttershy said, trying to think up one. But Zecora wouldn’t speak if she wasn’t here…

Gulping, Fluttershy took a few steps into the hut. On the shelf beside her stood a few un-shattered glass bottles with some liquid inside. Was one of these what the Mayor wanted?

Now deeper inside, Fluttershy could make out shapes in the next room. Was that a pony-like one? It could be Zecora…

“Um…Zecora, if you’re here, is this what the Mayor wanted?” she asked the darkness.

Nothing stirred.

“Uh…” coughing once, Fluttershy covered her mouth with a hoof, “The bottles there are what she desired, take but one before they are expired.”

Smiling, “Thanks,” Fluttershy took one of the bottles and put it in her pack. She turned and made for the door.

“Come again with light, and you will not have a fright.”

Fluttershy froze. Zecora was there, in the darkness, speaking. Like her friends had? The pegasus looked to the darkness in the next room but still nothing moved. Certainly Zecora would have moved if she could…it must be too dark and she might stumble. Of course…

“I’ll, um…bring some light next time…” Fluttershy said quickly and practically ran out the door. At that moment, there was a fear in her she did not understand.

She could feel Othershy’s eyes watching her as she ran home.

Fluttershy managed to put Zecora out of her mind after devouring lunch and dinner all at once. The resulting stomach ache had her confined to the couch with Angel as the already weak light outside faded to black.

She had long ago outfitted her own house with a few magic candles so that she would never be in total darkness. What little remained no longer bothered her. Nothing really frightened or bothered her much anymore.

That was why just thinking about the fear she had felt at Zecora’s unnerved her so badly. Zecora was fine, obviously. She had survived the meteor’s arrival and was living well.

In fact, Fluttershy had already known that. It was her that had thought of Zecora first and rushed to her aid, just as she had aided the other ponies of Ponyville.

A smile slowly crept onto her lips. Yes. Of course. How could she have forgotten? She had visited Zecora’s hut countless times over the years, slowly healing the zebra back to health. Zecora herself had visited Ponyville once she had recovered. Like the others, she no longer had to eat or drink or sleep. Some of Twilight’s magic must have reached her…

And just like that, the fear washed away. Fluttershy knew she should be happy at the moment, but her smile faltered.

Of course Zecora was there and fine. Of course.

The pegasus sighed and laid on her side, holding Angel close.

The next day, Fluttershy worked from dawn to dusk in the Town Hall with her friends. It was amazing what they could accomplish together, changing the inside of the plain Town Hall into a room fit for a gala.

Still, it would take more than just one day to get the Hall ready. Fluttershy realized that more than just decorations needed to be placed: holes needed to be cut, rope and wire strung and threaded, pedals placed. As the day wore on and more ideas popped into her head, the scope of the project continued to increase.

Dusk would have come and gone without anypony’s notice had Twilight not yawned. It was that clue that had Fluttershy’s eyes scanning the windows and noticing the gloom. With a frown, she said her farewells to her friends, who insisted on sleeping in the Hall until it was finished, and headed home.

The Mayor stood watch outside like always, looking for any reason to shut down the project until some payout was met. Fluttershy didn’t blame her though. It was her building, after all.

She smiled at the Mayor, the Mayor smiled back, and the rain engulfed her.

Cold. Still the rain was cold. It had cooled to simple warm before, but never had it been cold two days in a row. What was going on?

No matter the weather, ponies still stood outside and chatted away. She didn’t like eavesdropping so Fluttershy started to shy away from them. But they were everywhere. It became obvious that she wouldn’t be able to not hear at least a few ponies talking at any given time in Ponyville.

She supposed that was fine. It felt good to see all her hard work paying off, all the late nights helping everypony get better. As long as they were happy, she’d be happy.

But as the houses gave way to woods, the voices slowly drifted away. There was a buzzing in the back of her head still, and if she tried she could hear them faintly, but she blocked it out instead. Whatever the magic had done to her, she didn’t plan to abuse it.

Here, like in Everfree, the trees were barren from the rain. Fluttershy hoped the decreasing temperature of the downpour meant it would end soon. She wanted to see the trees lush once again.

Her home came into view as she broke from the trees. The river that rain beside it made a constant gurgle. Her wings came out slightly as she stepped onto the bridge over the river. It was in a constant state of repair and she had gotten a hoof stuck through more than once. With a flap of her wings she could avoid it happening again.

But there was something…normal about walking over the bridge that had her doing so instead of gliding over. Maybe it was a reminder of everything that had been before. Before the rain, of course…

Inside, sleep came quickly, pushing out unnecessary thoughts.

Another day arrived, this time with a surprise. Inside the Hall was a large, square metal box on wheels. One side had dials and buttons, and the opposite side had a vent with a spiral wire inside. Fluttershy inspected it while Rarity explained.

“Isn’t it wonderful?” said her unicorn friend, “The weather’s been so cold lately that the chill is creeping into the Hall, so I asked our good friend Pony Joe to donate one of his portable heaters!” Fluttershy’s eyes traced a cord sticking out the machine and ending in two prongs. Rarity followed her friend’s eyes and sighed, “Unfortunately, the rain makes it impossible to get power from Joe’s to here. I asked Twilight to make something similar to what powered her Elements of Harmony machine.”

Nodding, Fluttershy did another walk around the heater. Her mind, sharpened over the years from reading half the books in Twilight’s library, thought over the dilemma. “What if we used a battery? We could charge it up and then we wouldn’t always need a window open to outside to run the heater.”

“That could work,” Applejack said. She had snuck up on the two pony’s conversation and smiled at her own stealth. Fluttershy figured the earth pony rarely got the drop on others. “The only thing is we don’t have one of those battery things.”

Fluttershy thought a moment before saying, “I’ll ask Pony Joe. He had one of these, I’m sure he has some other things stashed away in his basement.”

“It’s lucky this was there at all,” Rarity said with a huff, “It seems like anything electrical was fried by the meteor. It took me three weeks to find a working sewing machine! Three weeks! Do you know how many dresses I could have made in that time?”

“Here we go,” Applejack said with an exasperated sigh, “Rarity, we were all laid up in bed until Fluttershy helped us, there was nothing you coulda made at all.”

“Says the pony who was walking around before any of us!”

Smiling motherly, Fluttershy patted Rarity’s shoulder and said, “Now, now, you’ve had plenty of time to make anything your heart desired since then. Remember last month we made those wonderful gowns! We should wear those to the gala…” Her voice trailed off as Rarity’s eyes sparkled with images of the two of them dancing together in the immaculate dresses they had made.

Applejack rolled her eyes and went back to cutting a hole in the floor. Many mechanical changes needed to be made to the hall, some simple, some complex. Fluttershy hoped half of them would work once they were all complete.

But she wouldn’t act too surprised if all of them did.

Friends and the work helped take Fluttershy’s mind off the zebra living in the woods, but only while they were near. The walks to and from home had her looking deeper into the woods and wondering. All the way, Othershy kept pace.

On the fifth day of work, Fluttershy stopped halfway home. Trees darkened the path all around her, making the already dark night pitch black. She knew the trail by heart anyways. She could have done it backwards. Fluttershy wanted it dark.

She took a deep breath and exhaled. A shiver ran through her from the cold. Now or never, she thought.

“Come out.”

A chill from the side. Why?

“Why have you been following me? I wanted you to leave me alone. Why come out now?”

An unseen but felt smile. You tell me.

“I’m not playing a game with you,” she said, allowing an edge into her voice. “If you’re going to mess up the gala and hurt my friends-”

Laughter. As if I could. What you see is all I can do now.

“Perhaps I should take it all away? Then, maybe, you’d leave me alone!”

Silence.

Fluttershy let the warning hang in the air a moment before saying softly, “Stay away from my friends.” She started walking down the path.

Is Zecora your friend?

Her hooves came to a stop. “Of course she is. I helped nurse her back to health-”

Did you?

“-and just because we don’t see each other often doesn’t mean we aren’t friends,” Fluttershy continued without missing a beat. “In fact, I’m going to go invite Zecora to the gala. I can have a dress made for her in time and-” she stopped talking suddenly.

Othershy was gone. Fluttershy looked all around but couldn’t see or feel her near. Frowning, she started walking home again, continuing the plans for Zecora’s invitation.

Knowing the trip wouldn’t take as long as previously believed, Fluttershy packed light as she headed for Zecora’s the next day. A carrot wobbled in her mouth while she walked, mostly there to distract her from the task at hand.

There was no denying it: Zecora had been out of touch for a long, long time. She could have been hurt, injured badly to the point that she couldn’t move. Fluttershy resisted the urge to pack all her medical supplies. There was no way to know if she was even hurt or not until the pegasus could inspect her.

The zebra might have been putting up a brave front their last meeting. Maybe even-

“Ow!” Fluttershy cried out and stopped. Something small and hard had bonked her right on the top of her head. She heard it hit the ground and looked down. It looked like a small piece of glass. She raised a hoof and nudged it. It rolled and got smaller. “…ice?”

A few clatters here and there around her told her more ice was coming down. She kicked up her legs and ran from there. There were books at home on weather that she wanted to look into immediately, but Zecora came first.

Running only made it so she was hit from an angle instead of from the sky. Fluttershy bit the edge of her coat and pulled it forward to protect her face. The move blocked her vision, however. She hoped she could remember the path correctly.

Twenty hooves west, then the path turns-

Her shoulder glanced a tree and she compensated to stay on the path. She knew these paths, had taken them all her life. Left…now. Fluttershy smiled despite the welts she was getting all over. She flowed along like a river-

WAM!

Darkness.

Fluttershy saw it and knew it, but no longer feared it. It was there, as it always would be. But she didn’t have to acknowledge it. And, in time, perhaps she would find a way to never have to feel it again.

“But that day isn’t today.”

The voice made Fluttershy “turn”. It was difficult to tell direction in the darkness around her. A simple motion could have been more complex then she knew. Everything was so strange here…

“Is it?” Othershy said. Only her glowing red eyes were visible in the blackness.

“Where am I?” Fluttershy asked calmly. No matter the answer, she knew it was nowhere she would be afraid of. Just another place, like any other.

Othershy frowned at her, though Fluttershy had no idea how she knew that as she couldn’t see the other pony’s face. “Bored of your little illusions already?” before the other pony could answer, Othershy said, “You’re the one that’s been calling to me, lately, not the other way around.”

Blinking, confused, “Why would I call to you? Everything-”

“Yes, yes, ‘everything is fine’, right?” the shadow pony said with a sigh. “I’m as lost as you are, and even if you knew you wouldn’t know. That’s how you live, right? By not knowing what you already know?”

“This is a waste of time,” Fluttershy huffed, tired of the other pony already. “Go back to wherever you were hiding and leave me alone.”

“Gladly!” Othershy snarled. Her eyes winked out and…

Light.

Rain drizzled down onto her hoodless face. The hood must have slipped off when she hit…what? Looking up, Fluttershy saw Zecora’s hut before her eyes.

She croaked out, “I haven’t been on this path before…”

With a groan, she hauled herself up. Ice had stopped coming down and the rain had lightened slightly. “Weird weather…” she said out loud and cringed. Her throat was dry.

The door to the hut was just as she had left it: fully open. Peeking in, Fluttershy looked upon the picture perfect image of the room as she had left it. The late afternoon light forced the darkness inside to deepen further.

“Just another place…ow!” Fluttershy’s knees buckled and she brought a hoof to her head. It came away sticky, red. Blood. She let out a groan: she never carried medical supplies on her anymore.

She walked fully inside but left the door open so light could come in. Her pack slid down her back to the ground. Stomach growling, Fluttershy rummaged inside for something to eat. She must have been out longer then she thought…

“I don’t mean to be rude, but did you bring me any food?”

A shiver ran down Fluttershy’s spine. She expected everypony to speak now, but to hear Zecora so perfectly done made her uneasy…still, she was just another pony, er, zebra.

“I only brought enough for myself,” she replied politely, “No pony else can eat anymore because of Twilight’s spell, you know that…”

A silence hung in the room.

“…but you weren’t within Twilight’s spell…so…um…” the ache in her head from her wound got worse as her mind worked. Where was the reason? She knew it, she knew she knew it, but why couldn’t she remember it…

“Ah, it is fine, Fluttershy, I have found a way to get by.”

“Oh,” Fluttershy said, relived. She would remember how Zecora gets by…later. Right now she had to…remember why she had come there in the first place...

A trail of blood ran down her forehead to her nose.

“Your crash made quite a bump; there is a salve beside you for the lump.”

Fluttershy looked to her side and there, on the dusty shelf, was a bowl of white cream. She could have sworn it wasn’t…no, it was there before. In her haste she must have overlooked it the first time she had…no that wasn’t the first time she had visited Zecora’s, it was the…

“Ah…” she brought her head down to her hooves and rubbed her temples. It was so hard to think right then, so hard to remember everything she needed to remember.

“Relax my pony friend; the salve will put you on the mend. Just rub some on your open wound and soon you will be in a better mood.”

Zecora’s rhyming was starting to grate her already frayed nerves. Without a thought, Fluttershy reached up and dipped a hoof into the bowl. She rubbed the cream over where she thought the wound was. Instantly the pain was gone and replaced with a cool sensation. The pegasus smiled and dabbed some more on.

“A lot is not required,” Zecora said but was unheeded, “Though it is better to use it before it expired…”

“Thank you so much!” Fluttershy said, beaming, “What is this made from?”

Though she couldn’t see her, Fluttershy thought Zecora was smirking slightly, “This and that. In Everfree, herbs can be as sly as a cat. You must know what and what not to use, but I’m sure none of them would fool you with their ruse.”

It was certainly true: Fluttershy had read almost a dozen books on the plants and animals that grew…grow…no, grew around and in Equestria. Everfree had always housed the most exotic plants and creatures of the land, so it was no surprise to her that Zecora could find anything she wanted. And anything she couldn’t find here…

“Oh! We’re having a gala in Ponyville next week!” Fluttershy remembered, “I came by to invite you. I can have a dress made for you if you don’t have one on hand.”

“A gala in Ponyville? Shouldn’t Canterlot be where the high class mill?” the darkness seemed to move slightly as Zecora spoke, as if she were shifting her weight back and forth. Shuffling her hooves? Nervous?

Fluttershy smiled, “There won’t be too many, um, ‘high class’ ponies there. Just the ponies of Ponyville.” She took a step towards the darkness in the next room. “We’d love it if you could attend, if that’s alright with you?”

The dark shape that could…was Zecora shrank slightly. “I…will try to attend. If I can’t I do not mean to offend.”

The pegasus just laughed, “No pony would be offended. Just let me know before next week, alright?” She turned to go. “”Oh, one more thing: I’ll be back in a couple of days with some bandages-”

“NO!”

Fluttershy slipped on the step up to the door but caught herself before she fell. The outburst had startled her. She stared into the darkness of the next room in shock.

“Ah…” Zecora said shakily, “I am perfectly healthy, fine and dandy.”

Her eyes stayed wide but Fluttershy nodded. “Alright…well, see you, then.” She started up the steps again. Her ears were up and open, but she didn’t hear Zecora say another word.

Days passed.

Fluttershy found herself working intimately with Twilight and Applejack as they assembled the machinery under the gala floor. She was careful to not get her mane stuck in any of the gears as they test ran the work. There were pulleys and peddles for everything: from curtains to doors to tables. The gala could change in a heartbeat with just a few pulls of rope.

The scope of it was massive, but, as if knowing the event was coming beforehand, many of Ponyville’s residents had items needed to put the event together. Gears and levers were dug out of basements and attics. Rope was borrowed from stores. Beautiful floral arraignments were even put together unknowingly. It always made Fluttershy smile when she stumbled on something right when she needed it.

But the things that made her smile also made her frown. Everything was going…perfectly. None of her friends had argued for days. Anything she ever needed was always on hand or within reach. The heaters, hooked up to large, rechargeable battery generators, were almost complete. Rarity even had the foresight to place them strategically around the Town Hall Square so the entire area could be warmed. She even hinted that with enough heat pointed upwards they could evaporate the rainclouds, temporarily.

Such an amazing discovery was lost on Fluttershy. She went at the work because it got her mind off the thoughts she shouldn’t have been having at all. Why hate a good thing, a great thing? There was no more anger or fear or hate anymore, just love.

Everything was fine… wasn’t it?

“If the ceiling had eyes it would ask why I was staring at it,” Fluttershy said softly to Angel. She held him closer. He stayed awake as long as she did; only sleeping because she liked it when he did. The magic took many things but it would never take feelings away.

The pegasus rolled on her side and adjusted the blanket over herself. Angel stayed neatly tucked close against her. She stared now at the dresser, once cluttered with odds and ends for her animal friends. Then, cluttered with bandages and triage for her pony friends. Now, barren. Anything she needed was already strategically placed around Ponyville.

Her mind flickered to the gala, now only two days away. Rarity and Rainbow Dash were waking early to test the “evaporating raincloud” idea. They had invited her to spend the night, almost begged, but she had refused. She just…wanted to lie in bed and hold Angel and know everything was alright.

Othershy was there, always, but the sensation was ignorable. The shadow pony must have been outside or in the woods. How Fluttershy could always tell, she did not know. There was a connection between her and that pony that she didn’t understand. And the times she had tried to understand she had felt her mind push back and get angry. She didn’t want to feel like that. She wanted to be happy and have her friends be happy…

Angel wiggled in her embrace. Smiling, Fluttershy moved slightly so he was more comfortable. Feelings remained. Though her friends were close to her, Angel was closer. Never speaking and never judging. Simply living.

She kissed his forehead softly, “I love you, my Angel.” He smiled up at her his toothy smile. Fluttershy smiled back and closed her eyes, ready for sleep.

The window. Othershy was at the window, staring in at her.

Let her.

Feelings remained.

“Sorry I’m late!” Fluttershy said, out of breath, “How did it go?”

“Wonderfully, though Rainbow Dash almost got cooked flying around up there!”

“I’m faster than those machines can turn on, Rarity! And I was just checking the thickness of the clouds, like you wanted me to!”

Smiling, “So it went well?” Fluttershy sat under the Town Hall’s overhang and stared up at the clouds There didn’t appear to be any change in them.

“Mhm,” Applejack replied, “There was a nice big hole over the entire square, big enough for the whole town, I reckon.”

“Perfect…” Fluttershy leaned slightly and rested her head on Pinkie Pie’s shoulder. Pinkie Pie tilted her head to rest on hers and her fluffy hair presses against her back. The party pony had mellowed out slightly over the years, becoming more empathetic as time soothed out her energetic personality. She was still Pinkie Pie, however, and after a moment something caught her attention and she leaned away from Fluttershy. The pegasus was ready for the motion and took the weight off her friend before she fell over.

“The gala’s in two days,” she said, coming back to the moment, “What else do we need to test?”

Twilight looked down at a list lying at her hooves, “Just a few more things…” She looked up suddenly at a strange sound. Ice had begun to fall from the sky again.

“Hail,” Fluttershy said confidently, “It shouldn’t be a problem. It means the rain will be snow soon.” Her friends all looked relived. She smiled. They relied on her, so she had made sure to know what this strange new weather meant.

“Will it snow during the gala?” asked Rarity. “If it does, we could turn off the heaters and let it come down. That would make for a night no pony would forget.”

“For all the work we’ve put in, I’m sure no pony will ever forget it,” smiled Fluttershy. “Let’s go finish up.”

Her friends all followed her inside for the long day of testing ahead.

The final walkthrough of the Town Hall turned gala went so smoothly Fluttershy wondered why she did it at all. At the center of the round Hall was the dance floor surrounded by tables decorated beautifully with flowers. The stage at the far end of the Hall would only be used once, and so curtains had been put up to block it from use. The balconies lining the Hall from the second story onwards also had tables and chairs for the pegasus ponies who would attend. Fluttershy wished they had more time to make a magical space for the unicorns to feel more comfortable, but Twilight had been far too busy to do so.

Still, Fluttershy hadn’t seen anything so amazing in quite a long time. Years, in fact. The whole town had pitched in in one way or another. This was no longer a replacement for the Canterlot gala, but their own, Ponyville gala.

After the walkthrough and a short conversation with all of them, Fluttershy walked each of her friends home from the Hall. They wanted to stay and keep working, but it was as good as it was going to get. Convincing them one at a time didn’t bother her at all.

Pinkie Pie was the last to leave. Darkness was descending by then. They walked in silence to Sugar Cube Corner, listening to the rain fall. Fluttershy stood under the overhang as Pinkie fished out her key from her hair. The Cakes always locked up before nightfall. Memories from a long lost time that would never go away but would never happen again. Some things never change.

As the door squeaked open and Pinkie Pie started to step in, Fluttershy stopped her. “Um… I was wondering… since everypony is going to the gala with somepony… would you like to go with me?”

Pinkie Pie blinked at her, “Well of course I’m going with you, silly! I’m going with everypony!” She smiled her big smile.

Fluttershy laughed nervously, “Oh… right… well, um… I’ll see you tomorrow then… ”

Before Pinkie Pie could say goodnight, Fluttershy ran off towards home.

Her coat was dripping as she hung it up with her teeth. The wood underneath had a groove in it where the rain hit and ran out under the door. Years of rain slowly gnawing away.

Fluttershy sighed and fell sideways onto her couch. The cushions had been repaired and then replaced over the years. No rain had ever touched them, just her weight.

She rolled onto her back and raised her front legs. Muscles on her legs stood out, but nothing she hadn’t seen before. Years of work had made her stronger then she had ever thought she’d be.

But where was her strength when it came to Pinkie Pie? And why did she even feel these strange things for the pink pony? Fluttershy sighed and covered her eyes. So many strange feelings lately. Without wanting to, she started to examine them all.

Zecora: the zebra in the forest who scared Fluttershy for reasons she didn’t understand. Nothing scared her anymore, so why did she? Was it because Fluttershy couldn’t say for sure that Zecora was alright? Was the zebra living in pain that she would tell no one about?

Othershy: the shadowy pony who said Fluttershy herself was calling out to her. Fluttershy had done no such thing, yet seemed to have total control over when the other pony appeared and disappeared. The thought of being in control of somepony else frightened her. No pony should be under anypony else’s control.

Pinkie Pie: her best friend and…and what? Just her friend. That much should have been enough for Fluttershy, but for some reason it wasn’t. She had read stories about friends who became more. Special someponies. Was that what she wanted?

She let out a sigh and rolled onto her side. The living room was once crowded with medical supplies, much as her room had been, but was now sparse. Cushioned chairs were set up all around in case her friends stopped by. The table adorning the center of the room had lovely flowers in vases. Flowers that would never wither or die. Real, though looking fake.

“How old am I?” Fluttershy asked the empty room. The question had occurred to her many times over the years. How old was she? Did it matter? Did anypony care? Did Pinkie Pie care?

The more she thought about it the more tired she got. She was twenty two when the meteor fell. At least a year had passed… right? No… two…

Fluttershy closed her eyes and shut out the thoughts. “It doesn’t matter,” she thought out loud. “As long as I have my friends, it doesn’t matter.”

Angel dropped a pan with a squeak. Smiling, Fluttershy got up and went to go help him.

Fluttershy took a deep breath to steady herself, then another. She could hear the ponies gathered outside talking. Her eyes shot to the large, decorated clock on the wall. “Five more minutes…”

Rarity put a reassuring hoof on her shoulder and said, “We can open the doors early, you know. I’m sure no pony would mind.”

The pegasus thought it over before looking to the rest of her friends. They all nodded. After another breath to steel herself, Fluttershy walked to the double doors to the Town Hall. With a flourish that seemed to flow through her, she threw the doors open wide and proclaimed, “Welcome to the Grand Galloping Gala!”

Everypony outside gasped at her sudden appearance. Though they formed a sizable crowd none of them were wet. A series of tarps had been set up to shield them from the rain. Fluttershy noticed that the rain had turned into a constant hail. Steam expanded from her mouth. Something felt strange…

But Fluttershy pushed the thoughts aside and walked to the first couple, offering her leg, “If you’ll follow me, I will show you inside.” They smiled and the pony took her leg.

As they were unicorns, Fluttershy escorted them to the more magically inclined side of the room: tables that floated through magic she did not know along with unicorn hostesses, Twilight and Rarity. Rarity was liable to start socializing, but there was nothing for it. She would be who she was and nothing more or less.

The next couple were pegasi. Smiling, Fluttershy flew them up to a balcony adorned with cloudy decorations. They looked around at the setting and smiled. Rainbow Dash would serve the pegasus ponies by herself and have enough energy to spare.

The third couple were earth ponies, something Fluttershy was thankful for. She walked them easily to their section on the ground floor, opposite the unicorns. Earthy tones with harvest ornaments adorned their tables. Applejack was already there, ready and waiting. Pinkie Pie was eyeing the food. Though no pony but Fluttershy ate anymore, the food was symbolic of a time when they did. Pinkie Pie, though also never needing food, never got over her habit of eating everything in a five mile radius.

Fluttershy gave the pink pony a stern look that had her eyes looking elsewhere before heading to the door to bring in more guests. The process took almost an hour but was worth it to her. Everypony was socializing and laughing together. The seating arrangement was quickly forgotten as they gravitated around the Hall towards ponies they knew.

And Fluttershy let them. Truthfully she had only wanted to see every pony in town again, that’s why she insisted on seating them two by two. Once inside, it was a party.

It went on like that for an hour or so before Fluttershy took to the stage. Public speaking had never been one of her strong points before, but here, in front of all her friends in the town, in fact the entire town of friends, there was no fear in her at all.

“Ponies of Ponyville,” she began, the room growing quiet, “I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am to see you all here, together. It wasn’t that long ago that a tragedy struck Equestria and struck us ill.” Here, everypony quieted completely, remembering the day of the meteor. “The fire from the sky took our two princesses and Canterlot away from us. It took your ability to eat and even talk for a time. It took so much.” Fluttershy paused. “But it did not take us away from one another. In fact, it took no pony away! No pony need be afraid of injury or pain or sickness because they no longer exist here in Equestria! The meteor…was a gift. With this gift, we are able to truly appreciate each other. And to me, it was worth the crumbling of one city. It was worth it…because where one city fell, another grew with our hearts, big enough to dwarf Canterlot ten times. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

The room burst into applause. Smiling, Fluttershy scanned the Hall in wonder. Every pony there was there because she helped them, because she was their friend. The meteor was a gift.

Pinkie Pie came up and yelled into the microphone, “This is a party, so let’s dance!”

The entire Hall showed their agreement by rushing the dance floor. Fluttershy quickly hit a lever on the stage and the tables ringing the center of the Hall slowly moved to the edges. While they moved, she helped everypony to the floor in an orderly fashion. It took some time, but no pony minded. They were eager to see what she had planned.

As the last ponies were put into place, Fluttershy made her way to the center of the floor. Several paddles and push switches were scattered about the middle of the dance floor. Fluttershy positioned herself like she had practiced. She pressed a switch directly below her and music began to play.

“Alright, everypony,” she said with a smile, “Let the dance begin!”

Though the sight before her was horrific, Othershy, from her place in the shadow of a table on the ground floor, couldn’t look away.

Thin ropes connected every single pony together on the dance floor. Fluttershy took a step forward, her hoof pressing down on a peddle. A wheel below her spun and the ropes pulled. As one, the ponies of Ponyville stepped together with Fluttershy. The pegasus stepped to the side and turned her head with the music, and the others followed, pulled by the rope.

The skeletons of Ponyville danced.

Othershy tried to shut her eyes but couldn’t. Fluttershy was in total control of her own mind right then, and the shadow pony couldn’t get away.

She was forced to watch as Fluttershy danced and her puppets followed.

Everypony smiled. Everypony danced. Everypony was happy.

It had been so long since Fluttershy felt so…alive. She flowed with the music and the ponies of Ponyville followed her lead. Right then, she was their everything, their savior, their protector.

The music went on for what seemed like hours. Lost in it all, Fluttershy stepped onto the switch that had previously turned the music on. This time, the gears spun and the record was lifted from the player. She stopped and Ponyville stopped with her.

Panting, she smiled at them and said, “Well, time for a break, I think.” Everypony laughed at her joke and began to socialize with one another on the dance floor.

Fluttershy walked around them to the stage and sat. Her friends continued to serve the town, but mostly they chatted with everypony they met. That was fine. They deserved to have as much fun as everypony else there that day.

A presence at her side made her turn. Othershy sat beside her looking out over the crowd. “Zecora didn’t make it, hm?”

Fluttershy turned back to the Hall at large and shook her head, “No, she was too busy. Maybe next year…”

Othershy nodded slowly, “Next year…every winter you’ll hold one?”

“Winter?” Fluttershy asked, shocked. She looked up out one of the windows of the Hall and noticed it for the first time. “It’s snowing…” A light snow fell outside.

“Summer, fall, then winter,” Othershy replied, “The natural course of things.”

“…no.”

The shadow pony turned to stare at Fluttershy.

“No, this wasn’t natural, it was planned, of course…” the pegasus smiled, “I had spoken to Rainbow Dash about bringing in the snow clouds…I didn’t think she’d make it, but now we don’t need the heaters at all.”

“…I guess not,” Othershy said. She stood and started to walk away. Fluttershy reached out and put a hoof on the other pony’s shoulder.

“Stay,” she said, “It’s a party for everypony of Ponyville, after all.”

Othershy’s red eyes pierced Fluttershy’s own. “There is nothing here for me. This is your illusion-”

“Oh don’t be so melodramatic, dear,” Rarity said as she walked up to the two ponies on stage. Othershy looked at her with wide eyes. Fluttershy smiled.

“How…I hear you…” Othershy said softly.

With a crack of thunder, the windows of the Town Hall shattered inwards and snow rushed inside. Rarity screamed as the snow pushed her away from the stage and into the crowd behind her. Fluttershy was swept up and slammed into the wall at the back of the stage. Snow held her pressed against the wall gasping for breath. As soon as the snow hit her, Othershy dispersed into shadows.

The ponies of Ponyville quieted instantly. The magical candles by the windows were put out by the snow until only a few remained lit far from them. Snow flowed freely inside the Hall but moved as if alive. Slowly, it condensed onto the stage and a figure rose from it.

Fluttershy watched as bones rose out of the snow and were slowly covered in icy “flesh”. A large alicorn slowly came to life before her eyes. She had long, white hair that flowed without a breeze. Her eyes opened to reveal irises like faceted diamonds, cold and reflecting. A necklace made of ice formed around her slender neck with a white gemstone adorning it. Her skin was the palest blue Fluttershy had ever seen.

As she formed, the snow stopped invading the Hall. She turned and locked eyes with Fluttershy, who gasped.

“Ce…ce…”

Smiling, the alicorn raised her head high and said softly, “Hello again, Fluttershy.”

“Celestia?!” Fluttershy screamed and squirmed but could not get free of the snow holding her.

The alicorn laughed, “That name no longer applies to me!” She leaned in until she was nose to nose with the pegasus. “My name is Skadi…

“…and Ponyville, and Equestria, belong to me!”

Chapter 9 - Winter Wrap Up: Part Two

One year before meteor…

Fluttershy screamed.

“Oh, calm DOWN, Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash sighed. Light erupted suddenly and made everypony blink. “See? The candle just went out…”

Twilight Sparkle brought the floating candlestick to a rest in the center of the table. Fluttershy sighed in relief as the light revealed all her friends again. “Now then,” the unicorn said as she lifted the book up from the floor, “Back to the story.”

“Um…Twilight? This isn’t a scary story, is it?”

Smiling even though she had answered this question already, Twilight said, “No, Fluttershy, it isn’t.”

“We’re almost done, just let her finish!” Rainbow Dash said with a huff.

“But, but…what if it turns into a scary story?”

The blue pegasus let out a groan of annoyance. “Rarity, will you tell her that-” but she stopped when she saw her unicorn friend has fallen asleep on the couch. “Applejack?” she asked and turned, only to see Applejack nodding off in a seated position beside the couch.

Twilight laughed softly. Fluttershy figured her smart friend had already known her story would put the two overworking ponies to sleep. Maybe that was her plan all along. Always thinking about her friends, that was Twilight.

Seeing no pony else able to jump to her side, Rainbow Dash sat back down and pouted.

The unicorn cleared her throat and continued her story quietly, “But even after Discord had been turned to stone by the Elements of Harmony, his chaos still affected the world. The axis of the planet had been affected, causing it’s rotation around the sun to shift to a degree of-”

“Uh, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash cut in, “Does it really get that technical?”

“Well…no…but after researching the event I-”

“Maybe you should read it how it was written then?”

“Oh, alright!” Twilight said with a sigh, “But even after Discord had been turned to stone by the Elements of Harmony, his chaos still effected the world. The axis of the planet had been affected, causing seasons to last for years and the sun and moon to rise and set at strange hours. Because of this, the two princesses, Celestia and Luna, took control of the planet’s rotation and set it back on track.”

Fluttershy said, amazed, “They used magic to affect the whole world?”

“That’s right,” Twilight replied, sounding proud of her teacher, “They tried to make everything go back to normal. But they found that the seasons would take years and years to go back to normal. So they gathered all the ponies far and wide and showed them how they could change the weather, thereby bringing back the seasons in their normal times.”

“But what if…” Fluttershy looked down as Rainbow Dash glared at her interruption of the story, again.

“It’s alright, Fluttershy, ask,” Twilight said.

“Um…what if all the ponies stopped changing the weather?”

“Well…I guess eventually things would return to normal…”

“Oh…”

Smiling at her friend’s curiosity, Twilight continued, “With order restored to the world, the two princesses took up their throne in Canterlot. As a symbolic gesture to show the world was returned to peace, each day Celestia would mime raising the sun, and Luna would mime raising the moon. That is, until the darkness in Luna’s heart, brought on by Discord’s darkness, surfaced.” Closing the book softly, “But that is a story for another sleepover.”

“Twilight?”

“Yes, Fluttershy?”

“If Princess Celestia and Luna could affect the world, couldn’t they also raise the sun and moon?”

“Well, yes, I suppose.”

“Then…why don’t they?”

Twilight levitated the book into its proper place and yawned, “I think it’s because sometimes too much power is a bad thing, you know? They want everypony to be happy. If something were to happen to either of them…then the world could keep going on.” Twilight stared off into space a moment.

Fluttershy walked over and nuzzled her. “I’m sure nothing will ever happen.” Twilight smiled back at her.

“You’re right, nothing like that could ever happen…”

Four years, three months after meteor…

The snow around her surged up, scooping her into the air with it. Fluttershy screamed as she soared over the crowd of frightened ponies. Her eyes locked with Twilight’s.

That could never happen…

Skadi laughed as Fluttershy slammed into the double doors of the Town Hall, cracking them wide open. The pegasus, along with the pile of snow around her, crashed onto the muddy grass outside. A thin layer of snow barely helped cushion the blow.

Shoulder screaming from where she hit the wooden doors, Fluttershy stared wildly into the sky. Her breaths came in short gasps. She said softly and repeated, “Just…a dream…just a dream…just a dream…”

The ponies inside were all panicking. She needed to get up. She needed to help them.

A voice from the entrance sent a shiver through her. “I have no need for you, Fluttershy. I have everything I need to retake Equestria right here.” Skadi barked out a laugh. “Thank you so much for taking care of my little ponies!”

Fluttershy’s mind screamed at her to rise. She rolled from her side onto her knees and said little louder than a whisper, “Stop…”

Celestia…no, Skadi, stood tall in the open doorway. Her white hair flowed but there was no breeze. Snowflakes drifted down from It. Her diamond-faceted eyes stared down at Fluttershy, regarding her coldly.

“No,” she responded softly, “I will not stop.” She began to walk towards the pegasus lying in the snow, not quickly nor hurrying. The rise of her long legs brought trails of snow into the air. Her hooves seemed to meld into the snow when she stepped down into it as if it were water. When she stood a mere few hooves from Fluttershy she stopped.

Fluttershy had to crane her neck from her kneeling position to keep eye contact with the alicorn. Skadi frowned at her like she saw everything the pegasus was and found her…lacking.

“You know,” she said, “I could use a pony with…well, with a brain. You seemed to have scooped out all the ones in there,” Skadi jerked her head towards the Town Hall as she finished. “I could do a lot with the magical bones of the unicorns, the light bones of the pegasus, and the hard bones of the earth ponies, but none of them will have any thoughts. A shame really…”

“What are you…”

“I WAS NOT FINISHED!” Skadi screamed down at Fluttershy. Snow whipped from her direction at the pony on the ground, lifting her enough to send her tumbling backwards. Every bounce on the ground sent a sharp pain into her shoulder and through her body.

When the pegasus came to a rest, Skadi cleared her throat and continued in a calm voice, “As I was saying: having a pony around to have a ghost of an intelligent conversation with would be nice. What do you say, Fluttershy? Swear loyalty to me as your queen and I’ll let you stay in Equestria.”

This time when she rose, Fluttershy got all the way to her legs. Pain, true pain, was a long unspoken to friend. But it was similar to the pain of her muscles as she plowed the fields. The pain in her heart as she found more of her friends injured. The pain in her soul when her princess had failed her.

But she had overcome that pain, and she would overcome this one.

“Equestria…” Fluttershy grit her teeth and said, “Does not need a princess, or a queen, anymore.”

Skaid’s eyes widened. She stared at Fluttershy without moving an inch. But the pegasus didn’t stand down.

With a scream of rage, Skadi reared up, blue magic radiating from her horn. The snow around Fluttershy rose in spikes and hardened into ice. More snow crawled up the spikes and formed a roof over her head before also turning to hard ice. The entire event took less than a second.

Fluttershy tried to back away from the icy bars suddenly in her face and found them behind her as well. She was trapped.

Skadi turned and started back towards the Town Hall, saying, “Perhaps you’ll change your mind before you freeze to death.” As she walked through the doorway to the Hall, a wall of snow rose up and turned to ice behind her, sealing the entrance.

Fluttershy pressed against the bars but couldn’t break them. The voices of every pony trapped in the Hall came to her unbidden. They were inside, scared, alone, with no one to help them. They needed her!

“How are you doing this?!”

The pegasus turned her head from the bars but kept hitting them in a vain attempt at escape. Othershy stood outside the cage and stared at her. “Don’t just stand there!” Fluttershy screamed, “Help me! We have to-”

“How are you doing this!?” Othershy asked again. Fluttershy noticed that the shadow pony seemed much more agitated than usual. Given the circumstances, she didn’t blame her.

But her question…”What are you talking about? We don’t have time for-”

Othershy suddenly slammed into the cage, frightening Fluttershy enough for her to step as far away from the shadow pony as she could. In a voice too calm for the wild look in her red eyes, Othershy said slowly, “How…this ice, being pushed out here, the snow…how are you doing all of this?”

In a shaky voice, Fluttershy replied, “I’m not.”

Zero years, four months after meteor…

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Twilight jumped and almost fell over. She leaned against the door to the library, casts around her back legs and bandages all over her body. “Fluttershy! I ran out of ink and-”

“Now, now, Twilight,” Fluttershy said with a smile as she cantered over, “I told you before that I’ll get anything you need from the store. You need to rest!”

Twilight frowned as Fluttershy got ahold of her and started her back into the library, but she didn’t complain. The pegasus just smiled. The others had tried the same thing time and again, but Fluttershy always caught them. They didn’t want to rely on her, she knew, but there was no other choice.

“Angel didn’t come with you today?” Twilight asked when they were up the stairs and into her room. A hole in the ceiling let in bright sunshine. Fluttershy made a mental note to take care of that when she had the chance. The weather sometimes turned cold at night.

Twilight continued to stare her question, and Fluttershy finally sighed and said, “No. He’s still feeling under the weather.” Her smile only faded a moment before returning, “I’m sure he’ll be right as rain soon.”

Smiling now too, Twilight allowed Fluttershy to help her into bed. They were silent a moment as Fluttershy put a blanket over her friend. Quietly, Twilight asked, “Still nothing from Canterlot?”

Fluttershy winced. Not a day went by that Twilight didn’t ask about Canterlot or Celestia. Softly, Fluttershy said, “Still nothing. No pony has been able to make the trip yet, and I’ve been so busy…”

“Oh, Fluttershy, I know! I didn’t mean…we’ll know when we all can go…”

Smiling a little, “Alright, Twilight. Just rest now. I’m sure Celestia is fine.”

Twilight hugged a small stuffed animal and said softly, “Me too…”

Four years, three months after meteor…

TINK…TINK…TINK…

Fluttershy hit the ice bars again and again with her front hooves but to no avail. Othershy had gone completely silent. She wondered what had gotten into the shadow pony but didn’t have time to figure it out. The entire town needed her.

She felt movement to her side and looked. Othershy was walking around the cage, eyes darting back and forth as if she were the one trapped. In her strange voice, she said, “We have to get out of here.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you!”

“No!” the shadow pony yelled, “Out of Ponyville! Maybe out of Equestria...if Celestia is back and insane then no distance would be too far.”

“Out of…” Fluttershy just stared at the other pony, confused. “And leave everypony behind? No!”

“They’re dead, Fluttershy!” Othershy said, coming around to the “front” of the cage, “Whatever Celestia has planned for them, it doesn’t involve us! We have to go!”

Shaking her head slowly from side to side, Fluttershy said, “I can’t believe you would abandon everypony like that…”

“Abandon..!” but Othershy cut herself off and locked eyes with Fluttershy. The other pegasus had a defiant gleam in her eyes. She would not budge from her stance: her friends came first. Growling, “Fine! We’ll find some way to save them…but not now! We’ll need time to think of a plan, so we should escape for now.”

Fluttershy narrowed her eyes and considered the idea. It was true that, right at that moment, Skadi held all the cards. Rainbow Dash always said the one who had the better hand would always win. “Alright, let’s do it,” she said.

Nodding, Othershy inspected the ice bars and said, “Good, they don’t look too thick at all. Celestia really doesn’t think much of you…a good buck should break them.” Fluttershy’s eyes narrowed again, but this time in confusion. Sighing, “A buck? Like how Applejack used to kick apples from trees before the meteor.”

“Apple…trees…” Fluttershy looked up and away at something only she could see. Far back into the past she saw shiny red apples hanging high in trees, ready for picking. Then, Applejack and her family kicking the trunks, making them fall. “I think I remember that…” she said softly. No trees had grown in Ponyville for many years now. She had planted some, long ago, but inpatients had led her to “easier to grow” vegetables over fruits.

Othershy stared at her expectedly. Aligning her body with the bars behind her, Fluttershy lifted her back legs and kicked out. Her hooves hit the bars behind her and propelled her face first into the front bars. She cried out and hit the ground, rubbing her forehead.

Shaking her head, Othershy sighed, “You have the strength, Fluttershy. Just use it.”

“If Applejack was here, she could do it…”

“Well she isn’t! She’s locked up by that crazy alicorn and you’re wasting time here moping!”

That sent a shock through Fluttershy. Her friends needed her more than ever. She had to be strong, stronger then Celestia ever was. The pegasus stood again and aligned her legs with the bars. Digging her front hooves in, she kicked out with her back legs. This time the ice cracked and gave slightly. A smile came to Fluttershy as she examined her work. “I did that…”

Othershy nodded and said, “Now just charge through like Rainbow Dash would and we can get out of here.”

“Right…like Rainbow Dash…” Fluttershy backed up till her tail brushed the bars and lowered her head. Othershy cried out something but it went unheeded. Fluttershy charged forward head first. The ice gave and she was free a moment later, but pain exploded in her head.

“Not your head, you moron!” Othershy was screaming. Suddenly she stopped and cried out, “By the light! Get up and run!”

The sound of ice shattering continued behind Fluttershy as she stood and looked behind her. Ice flew through the air as the seal over the Town Hall doors exploded outwards. Othershy’s screams were drowned out as Skadi slowly stepped into the now clear doorway, wind and snow whirling around her.

“Wrong choice!” the alicorn yelled through the whipping wind. The snow around her hooves flowed forward toward Fluttershy, rising up from the ground as it moved. Half-way to her it became a giant claw.

Othershy tried to nudge her but Fluttershy wouldn’t budge. The sight of the gigantic dragon’s claw had her locked in place. Dragons. The most destructive, black hearted creatures on the planet, with claws that could shred a pony to pieces in an instant and a maw that could devourer an entire town. Fluttershy felt something warm trickle down her back leg. Dragons.

The claw sprang out and grabbed her, pinning her legs to her body. The feel of the cold snow against her skin shocked Fluttershy out of her stupor. She screamed as it continued along it’s forward path with her in its grip. Her thoughts turned to Othershy but the other pony couldn’t keep up with the claw.

A house halted their momentum. Glass shattered and wood creaked under the weight of pony and snow. Fluttershy fell into the house through the broken window along with much of the snow that carried her. The claw had lost its substance as it hit the building.

Gasping from the impact, Fluttershy shakily got to her feet and quickly took in her surroundings. The house belonged to, if the photos could be believed, Bon Bon and Lyra. They had lived together ever since Fluttershy could remember. It had seemed odd to her at first: two grown ponies living together. The house had the feel of a home, like one where a family could begin and grow-

“WILL YOU SNAP OUT OF IT!” Othershy screamed from beside her, “We don’t have time for your stupid backstories! We have to go!”

Shaking her head quickly to remove the remaining snow, Fluttershy assessed the house again. There: the door to the basement. She rushed forward towards the door just as the snow piled high around the window began to shake. Skadi was coming.

Othershy noted Fluttershy’s movements and got in her way, saying, “There’s no way out that way, it’s a dead end!”

Fluttershy grit her teeth and, ignoring the tiny voice in her head telling her not to, shoved Othershy out of the way. The shadow pony was so shocked from the move that she didn’t immediately follow Fluttershy. The pegasus turned and motioned for the other pony to go first down the stairs. Snow started to pour through the window at a quicker rate, so Othershy just yelled out a curse and jumped down the steps.

Fluttershy closed the door behind them.

In the pitch blackness of the basement both ponies lost their perspectives for a moment. It was as if they were walking down the steps with eight legs instead of four, and trying to think with two minds instead of one. As their hooves hit the ground floor, one of them hit the light switch.

Light bathed the basement. It wasn’t very large and was filled with lots of useless tools and machines. Strangely, it all appeared organized and had little dust.

Othershy turned from the scene and regarded Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus was still breathing heavily, most likely from the tight grip of the claw of snow. Or was it because its shape reminded her of dragons? Bah, now she was the one thinking too much.

“Well,” she said, “You brought us down here, now what?”

Fluttershy looked at her like she was stupid, “Don’t you know what’s down here?”

She bit back a retort. It was easy to get mad at the clearly psychotic pony, but it wouldn’t solve anything. Othershy would have to treat her like the child she was. “No,” she said slowly, “I don’t.”

Still giving her those eyes that said “you must be stupid”, Fluttershy walked past her to what appeared to be a solid wall. Othershy gave her some “you better be going somewhere with this” eyes right back. Sighing, Fluttershy pressed in a brick laid along the wall. A section of wall just large enough for a pony to squeeze through slid inwards and to the side.

“By the night…when did you build this?” Othershy asked as she followed Fluttershy into the revealed passage. Through the hole was a tunnel that looked straight out of a mine shaft. A railway ran along the middle of it and stretched for miles. Everlasting candles lit the passage, revealing hallways further along intersecting the one they were in. The whole thing left Othershy in awe.

“What are you talking about?” Fluttershy replied as she pressed in another brick which slid the door back into place. “These tunnels always existed in Ponyville. They were used back when the town was founded to run illegal merchandise without guards finding out.” Fluttershy giggled, a noise so unfit for the situation that Othershy shivered, “But since no pony does anything bad like that anymore, I use it to move heavy supplies around the town. I’ve told you about them a million times…”

Did she? There were memories and thoughts that Fluttershy had that Othershy couldn’t see. Was this something the other pony had kept from her? And if so, why?

Fluttershy started to walk down the tunnel but Othershy stepped in her way. “Where do you plan to go?”

“To the Town Hall, of course,” the pegasus said with nothing but confidence. It made Othershy sick to think how simple minded she was.

“And what are you going to do against Celestia?” Othershy pressed, “As soon as you pop your head out she’s going to snap it off like a twig! We should leave and get help…”

Help was, of course, the last thing Othershy wanted to find beyond Ponyville’s borders. In fact, she felt confident that they would find little to no pony anywhere near the town. They would wonder far, far from the city of death and decay. The journey would give her time to slowly chip away at Fluttershy’s sick mind until she cracked and left her dead friends to rot.

But Fluttershy had to leave the town first, and the defiant look in her eyes was the last thing Othershy wanted to see. “My friends need me,” Fluttershy said and started to walk around Othershy.

The shadow pony growled, “You won’t help them by getting yourself killed!” That made Fluttershy stop, but she kept her face away. Slowly, Othershy said, “We don’t have any way to deal with Celestia. The snow is her ally and she-” a thought suddenly rushed into her mind and made her stop.

The heaters.

Her red eyes narrowed at Fluttershy. How convenient that the heaters, set up all around the town square and aimed at the Town Hall, were in place and adjusted just so…

Fluttershy turned around, “What? Did you think of something?”

Othershy grit her teeth, her fangs showing. Even if the heaters were set up perfectly to neutralize Celestia’s advantage, there was no way Fluttershy could have known the snow would start today. And even if she somehow knew and Celestia was just a figment of her imagination, that didn’t explain how she was able to manipulate the snow and fling herself around. Those things, as seen by the bruising on Fluttershy’s front leg, were real.

So Celestia was really up there…

Seemingly tired of waiting for her to speak, Fluttershy turned and started down the passageway again. Othershy kept pace behind her but kept quiet a moment.

The heaters. The snow. Celestia. All a coincidence?

Closing her eyes and collecting her thoughts, Othershy said, “We can stop her with the heaters.” She nearly ran into Fluttershy as the pegasus came to a halt.

“The heaters?” Fluttershy said and turned to regard the shadow pony.

Othershy locked eyes with the pegasus and made sure to explain her plan carefully, “Celestia is currently in the Town Hall with…everypony. The heaters are set up to heat up the town square. If we turn them all to max at the same time, all the snow will melt and she will be powerless.”

“What about her magic?” questioned Fluttershy, “She still has a horn.”

Othershy just shook her head, “If she had general magic still then she wouldn’t have used the snow for everything. Pushing you, the cage, blocking the door…all snow and ice. Whatever happened to her when the meteor hit took her powers away.”

Of course, Othershy had no way of knowing if this was true or not. Her reasoning seemed sound to her, however, and there was no other way out of their situation until they had tried something. Even if they failed, Fluttershy would be convinced they would need help and leave Ponyville. It was a win-win.

The pegasus muddled over the idea for a moment before shaking her head herself, “We can’t. The heaters have to be turned on individually. As soon as we turn one on she’ll know we’re up to something.”

“Then we’ll just have to turn them on remotely,” replied Othershy, gaining momentum, “We can run a wire between them all to one switch. These tunnels can connect them together, right?”

“Well of course, they lead to every house…”

“Then there you go!” a grin found its way to the shadow pony’s lips. Fluttershy looked like she wanted the idea to have a fault still, most likely because it was brought to her by Othershy, but didn’t say anything.

They both started down the passage, Fluttershy leading to the first heater’s location.

Eight months, one year after meteor…

Fluttershy watched the children from the front of the classroom. They laughed and joked and talked amongst themselves, but there was a slowness about it, an uncertainty. They acted the same way they had always acted because they knew it was expected of them. To act normal while their parents, uncles, aunts, all the older ponies, healed.

The children had healed much quicker than the adults for reasons Fluttershy didn’t know. Watching the older ponies suffering, ponies they had looked up to all their lives, must have traumatized them deeply.

But they were here and they still knew happiness enough to imitate it even if they didn’t feel it as acutely as before. And it was all because of her. Fluttershy gulped, feeling pressured. She had wanted to bring some sunshine to the class, to interact with the children who had taken so little of her time.

The bird on her wing chirped. It didn’t like being indoors but would tolerate it for her. Miss Cheerilee was also looking at her expectantly. The pegasus took a breath to steady herself and gave a quick nod to the teacher.

From the shadow of the doorway, two bloodshot eyes watched Fluttershy intently.

Three months, four years after meteor…

The trapdoor leading to the basement opened slowly a crack. Blue eyes looked left and right before easing the trapdoor up and over. It hit the wood floor with a thud, making the pony jump.

“Just go already!” Othershy said moodily down the steps behind her.

Fluttershy sighed and entered the house completely. It was exactly as she had remembered it when she and her friends had set up the heaters: the heater installed was halfway out the only unboarded up window. It was impossible to see outside but also impossible to see inside.

“It’s safe…” she said as she walked to the heater. Othershy mumbled something to the effect of “I’m not surprised”, which Fluttershy ignored. Working with the shadow pony was a trial, but necessary if she wanted to save her friends.

The house they were in belonged to Pony Joe and was furnished for one. A TV sat in the corner of the room beside a large, comfy-looking chair. Fluttershy imagined him sitting there watching TV late into the night, alone. It reminded her of herself, lying in bed every night with only Angel to keep her warm.

Othershy had walked to the other side of the heater and was examining it. “This it?” she asked, peering closer. The back of the heater had a hatch that would open, revealing the “guts” of the machine. Beside the heater were some leftover supplies Pony Joe had let them store there, including a large spool of wire.

“It was your idea,” Fluttershy found herself saying, “go ahead and wire it up.” Normally she would have done the task herself over letting a friend perform it, but something made her want to see Othershy do it instead.

The shadow pony regarded her with red, sleepless eyes. She looked tired as she said, “I would if I could, just so we could have done and be gone from here, but I can’t, so stop wasting time and do it already.”

“I know you’re as smart as I am when it comes to this stuff,” Fluttershy said quickly, “you’ve watched me work with more complex machines before.”

Othershy sighed and closed her eyes, she lifted her hoof to the heater as she began, “Fluttershy, I can’t touch-” She stopped as her hoof clanked against the heater. Othershy jumped away from the heater as if her hoof had been burned. Her red eyes stared at it intently before she lifted her hoof and again touched it.

Fluttershy was reminded of the first time a baby feels some new texture. It was the first time she had seen such wonder in Othershy’s normally anger-filled eyes. The sight made her smile. “So, you’ll do it then?” she said softly.

“I…how did…how can I touch this while you’re you?” the dark pony asked in wonder.

“You could always touch it, silly,” smiled Fluttershy, “You just never wanted to before.” She allowed the dark pony to touch the heater a little longer before saying, “We should hurry. I’ll meet you at the next heater.”

That shook Othershy out of her wonder, and she quickly turned and said, “I don’t know where the next one is!”

Smiling, Fluttershy started down the basement steps and said behind her, “You watched us install them! Just meet me at the crossroads down below!”

Othershy watched Fluttershy’s pink tail flick once and vanish down into the basement and tunnels below. She thought she should have yelled something after the pegasus but didn’t know what. Instead, she turned to the heater again.

Slowly, she lifted her hoof and touched the cool metal. It was the strangest feeling she could remember, being able to touch things. Like she was relearning how the world worked…

She shooked her head, dark mane flying back and forth. If she could touch things, could feel things, then that meant Fluttershy had given her control over her body. If that alone didn’t make enough sense, she had then walked away leaving Othershy to do as she pleased with it.

A thought jumped to the surface of her mind: escape. She could take that chance and run to…

The dark pony grit her teeth. Nowhere. As soon as she got out the door, Skadi would rip her to pieces. And she couldn’t go down the tunnels because she had a better chance of running into Fluttershy than finding a path out. The insane pony had most likely not even made a tunnel to out of the city…

She leaned forward and pressed her forehead to the cool metal. Her eyes looked up and down herself. Though she had control of Fluttershy’s body, she had the coat and mane of herself. It was an odd feeling, one she didn’t wish to look into.

With a sigh of anger, she opened the heater’s hatch and began her task.

Fluttershy felt the wire in her mouth start to go taut and stopped. The tunnel ahead of her opened up into what she referred to as the “crossroads” because so many other tunnels met it. Also, it was directly below the Town Hall, giving it a symbolic meaning by default.

She had wired up the second heater without haste. Though it pained her to think about her friends in trouble, she felt something miraculous happening with Othershy. When the dark pony had touched the heater, Fluttershy had seen something spark in her eyes. Maybe she wasn’t a lost cause after all…

“Speaking of which…” she said softly as she heard the other pony coming up a tunnel ahead. The dark pony sounded like she was moving slowly, maybe carrying something. Hopefully, she thought, more wire. Fluttershy dropped the wire from her mouth and started forward.

A spool of wire rolled into view, one end of the spool trailing off. Othershy stepped into view and kicked it, sending it rolling again.

Smiling knowingly, Fluttershy called out, “I see you managed without me.”

Othershy turned to her without surprise in her eyes, as if she knew she would be there all along. “It wasn’t hard. You’re right, I have seen you do it plenty of times…” her voice trailed off as she looked beyond Fluttershy.

The pegasus turned but all she saw was the wire on the ground leading away. She looked back at Othershy about to ask what was wrong but the dark pony had come to her. They were nose to nose before Fluttershy could react.

Hot breath washing over her face, Othershy stared into her eyes and said slowly, “How did you wire that one?” Her tone, her wide, red eyes, made Fluttershy want to recoil.

But she stood her ground. She wouldn’t let so much progress with the other pony go to waste due to weakness. “I wired it up the same way you did, I’m sure…there won’t be any-”

Othershy slammed her hoof into the wall and screamed, “NO!”

This time Fluttershy couldn’t stop herself from taking a step back.

“No…” the dark pony said again, body shaking, “You couldn’t have done that because I had the body…ME!” Her dark hoof raised to point at Fluttershy, “You did it before…before all of this…you knew, you always know YOU ALWAYS KNOW! YOU’RE DOING THIS!”

“Othershy,” the pegasus said softly, slowly, “calm down, it’s going to be alright...I wired up this one while you wired the other one…”

But Othershy didn’t seem to be listening. Her eyes were jumping all over the place. She wobbled, unsteady, taking small steps back and forth. “You knew, you’re doing this, you knew, how, how, how...”

Fluttershy gulped, not wanting to do what she had to do next. With a step she closed the distance and wrapped her front legs around Othershy’s neck. The dark pony stiffened and tried to shake her off, but Fluttershy held tight. “It’s alright, it’s going to be alright,” she said over and over.

Eventually Othershy stopped struggling. Her breathing was still heavy and she wouldn’t respond to Fluttershy at all. Steadying herself again, Fluttershy released the other pony and took a step back.

Othershy looked more tired than ever. Softly, she said, “You’re insane…you conjured this all up just to get into my head…no…to get me out of yours…”

Sadly, Fluttershy said, “No…I just want to help you…I just want you to be happy, like everypony else…”

Red eyes narrowed, teeth gritted together, Othershy said, “You did all of this, I know you did. But you couldn’t have known about Celestia…” She stepped forward to stare deep into Fluttershy’s eyes before saying, “You are not leaving my sight again, not until we deal with her.”

Barely standing her ground under the other pony’s gaze, Fluttershy could only nod. It would make the task set out before them slower, but it was the only choice she had.

Othershy was nearly at her breaking point.

Wiring the last few heaters took hours. Fluttershy constantly glanced at any clock she could, and when there wasn’t one she would stare at the boarded up windows, and in the tunnels she would walk close behind her to speed her up.

But Othershy worked slowly, not because she had to but because she could. Every minute that went by was another minute Fluttershy got antsier. And Othershy loved it. The wire in the tunnel proved that Fluttershy had known about this event before it would happen, though most likely only on a subconscious level.

It meant Othershy now had leverage. This was all a part of Fluttershy’s plan, all a game she had concocted for one reason or another. But now Othershy knew it was a game. And that meant she could break it.

The last heater was set up on the second floor of the hospital. Night had long since fallen on Ponyville, and Othershy had taken to carrying an everylasting candle sideways in her mouth to see. Thought she could have simply stopped hooking up the heaters at any time, Fluttershy would have just taken back her body and finished her game. So she pretended to partake while she thought up a way to get into the other pony’s head.

As she finished wiring up the final heater, her plan came together. Othershy closed the hatch and turned to Fluttershy. The other pony was standing by the candle, watching her.

“The hatch needs to be open to start it…” Fluttershy said softly.

Grinning, Othershy sat down and said, “Let’s talk a moment, Fluttershy.”

“I really don’t think that-”

“Fluttershy,” the dark pony said, hinting at darker thoughts, “Let’s. Talk.”

“I just…I really think we should…” but the pegasus stopped trying. Good.

Grinning from ear to ear, Othershy stepped towards Fluttershy, “Don’t you think it’s strange? All these coincidences: the heaters, the gala, Celestia. They all happened at the same exact time, as if somepony planned it.”

Fluttershy kept stock still as she followed the dark pony with her eyes, “You think somepony wanted this to happen? They wanted all the ponies in town together so they could hurt them?” Othershy started to walk around the pegasus so Fluttershy had to turn her head to follow, “Do you think it was Skadi? Could she had-”

“It was you,” whispered Othershy. “You were tired of your boring life, so carefree and innocent. You wanted some action, so you subconsciously set all these events into motion.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened, “That’s insane…why would I intentionally put my friends in harm’s way? And that doesn’t explain Skadi-”

Othershy’s laughter cut her off, “But you found a way, like you always find a way. So persistent…you must have machines and mechanisms running all over the place, unseen until you want them to be.” The dark pony stomped her hooves, “They’re here too, aren’t they? In the floor, in the walls, in the ceiling…if I step out of line you’ll just fling me out the window, won’t you?”

This time Fluttershy stayed quiet, though her eyes stayed glued to Othershy’s.

“Nothing to say now? It’s because I’m right!” the dark pony accented her final word by stepping close to the pegasus. “You and your constant talk about your friends and the town you love so much can’t even see the truth! They’re all dead!”

Fluttershy looked down and shook her head slightly, “No…they aren’t…”

“They are!” Othershy screamed just inches away from the other pony, “They died when the meteor hit and you couldn’t take it! You tricked yourself into thinking they were all alive!”

Fluttershy raised her head, tears streaming from her eyes as she said, “No, Zecora…you tricked yourself into thinking they had died.”

Four months, zero years after meteor…

Angel stirred restlessly on her back. Everfree at night was not his idea of a fun trip.

“I’m sorry, Angel, I didn’t know we would be out so late…” Fluttershy said quietly. Something about the silent forest made her want to speak softly. Twilight had assured her that the forest would be barren of creatures for many years, but that did little to calm her nerves. The place was creepy no matter what.

Angel wiggled on her back again, pulling at her mane. “Now, now, just relax, hunny,” Fluttershy said. The little bunny pulled her hair more, this time to the left. She turned her head and looked into the woods.

Two bloodshot eyes stared back.

Fear gripped Fluttershy. Everypony she knew was resting in town. In her mind she saw all of them, every last one, sleeping, not able to be there staring back. Every pony in town…

And then it clicked.

“Zecora…?”

The eyes turned and ran.

“Wait! Zecora, wait!”

Through the darkness Fluttershy ran. Angel held on tightly, pulling her mane, but she ignored that pain. What she couldn’t ignore was the pain that came with knowing she had forgotten somepony. The pain with knowing someone had been alone for months, hurt and scared. The pain with knowing the dark thoughts that could flirt with such a creature’s mind…

“Zecora!”

Three months, four years after meteor…

“…what did you just call me…?”

Fluttershy sniffled, “I know you don’t like me calling you that…but it’s the only way to make you calm down sometimes…”

Othershy shook her head and started to laugh, “This is ridiculous, even for you…”

“I’m sorry…are you feeling better?”

“Like hell I am!” the dark zebra…pony…I’m a pony…I’m not a…

What is going on…what’s wrong with my legs…why do they look like that? Those aren’t my legs…

“What are you doing to me?” Zecora said…I’m not Zecora! “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?”

“Nothing!” Fluttershy yelled back, “I haven’t done anything but try and help you ever since that night in the woods!” Tears flowed freely down her cheeks, “I just want you to be happy, like everypony! Why can’t you see that?”

That night in the woods? When we first met? It was so dark…I had followed her from Ponyville…she had entered my forest…I left my hut…

“No…no no no no no…” the dark…something dropped to her knees and held her head in her hooves. “That’s not true. That isn’t what happened. You created me subconsciously to stop your madness. I’m not some Zebra you forgot about and left to rot!”

“I didn’t mean to!” Fluttershy sobbed, “I had to help everypony in Ponyville!”

“And I’m not a pony, so it was so easy for you to forget?!” Othershy yelled back. Her eye’s grew wide in horror. “No no no…”

“Please, Zecora,” said the pegasus, dropping to her knees in front of her friend, “Please snap out of it…everyone wants you to get better…”

“I’m not crazy…” but the stripes on your legs say otherwise. “You’re crazy,” but everything is fine. “Everypony is dead,” but they’re all waiting for you.

Everything is fine.

Her mind was a cloud. Memories morphed and changed, warped by time and anger. The sonic rainboom going off without a hitch. Fluttershy getting food poisoning and her having to carry her to the hospital. The other ponies were jealous of her because her hut had protected her from the worst of the blast, allowing her to walk sooner than most of them. But they accepted her, even though she had all that bottled up anger. Anger at being left alone. Anger at thinking she would die for her stubbornness.

“No…” Zecora cried, pressing her forehead to the floor, tears pooling on the wood, “No…”

She felt a hoof gently stroke her unkempt hair. “It’s alright,” Fluttershy said soothingly, “It’ll be alright…”

Zecora saw memory after memory change and correct itself. All the horrible things she thought everypony had gone through: all lies. The houses were fixed by helping hooves. The gala put on by loving friends. Angel always being there when she and Fluttershy got back to the cottage…

…Angel’s house lying in a heap…

Her eye’s shot open.

“…Zecora? What’s the matter?”

“…why did you never fix Angel’s house…?”

“I’m sorry?” she sniffled as she wiped her nose, “Angel’s house? Well he started living inside with me…”

“But his house,” the dark one lifted her head off the floor, “Why did you never fix it? Or get rid of it? On your beautiful property it’s the only blemish…”

Fluttershy laughed lightly, “I just…haven’t gotten around to it is all…”

“…”

“…Zecora? Are you alright?”

Othershy lifted her head and stared hatefully into Fluttershy’s eyes, “You didn’t fix it because he killed himself there because he couldn’t stand the knowledge that he had tried to kill you!” Fluttershy recoiled and got to her hooves. Othershy rose quickly with her and continued, “You can’t forget that, can you? That one memory won’t ever change, won’t ever heal, and won’t ever get better! The one blemish on your mind!”

“Shut up!” Fluttershy screamed, eyes wide and wild, “You’re wrong! You’ve always been wrong! Why won’t you see that!?”

The hatred went out of Othershy’s eyes. Sadness replaced it. “You’re right, Fluttershy. I’ve been wrong this entire time…I’ve tried to make you see the truth, tried to force it on you, but you’re too lost.”

Some of the wildness left Fluttershy as she repeated, “You’re wrong…”

The shadow pony shook her head gently, “I failed you. You created me to help you and I couldn’t. You knew I failed long ago when you tried to lock me away in that cave, to hide your mistakes from me. But it’s too late for you, Fluttershy…there’s no saving you anymore…”

“What…are you saying?” the pegasus said softly.

Othershy closed her eyes. In a voice barely above a whisper, she said a single word:

“….Skadi…”

The window beside them exploded, pressed inwards to bursting by a press of snow. Fluttershy screamed as it fell over her and began to harden into the shape of a claw.

Othershy spoke the entire time, voice mechanical, eyes closed, “It was as I thought: all of this was just another one of your plans. You couldn’t get rid of me, you found that out when you pretended the Elements of Harmony machine had worked. So you would do the next best thing...” Othershy opened her eyes slowly as Fluttershy was dragged out the window by the claw, “You would convert me to your ways by convincing me I was Zecora.” Fluttershy kept screaming as she was lifted out the hospital window and into the sky.

Othershy stepped forward to watch her ascend. A snowstorm spun around the Town Hall with Skadi at its center, floating above the building. “But that’s not Skadi, or Celestia, or anypony at all,” Othershy continued, “It’s just an illusion you created, like me.” Snow lifted into the air and connected the claw to an arm, then a torso. Othershy lost sight of Skadi as snow covered her completely. A snowy head began to form. “Impressive…I’m almost sad I’ll never figure out how you did it…

“…oh well…at least it’ll be quick…”

The head of the giant snow creature finished forming, becoming half pony, half dragon. It roared at the tiny pony in its claws, drowning out Fluttershys screams.

And then the heater beside Othershy, knocked out the window by Skadi, turned on. The shadow pony’s eyes widened in shock as every heater connected turned on at once. “How…” and then she saw it: the one that was already wired up. “A timer…a timer?!” she screamed, “How many steps ahead are you!?” Othershy looked up at Fluttershy, still gripped in Skadi’s claw, and screamed, “How insane are you?!”

The heaters, stationed perfectly around the square, sent heat up directly at Skadi and the clouds above her diagonally. The clouds, less dense then the packed snow comprising Skadi’s form, dissipated first, revealing the orange morning sky.

But Othershy’s eyes were drawn to something else, something only visible from her perspective on the second floor of the hospital. “What…is that?”

Baltimare…

A door behind him burst open and the voice of his second-in-command, Jar, spoke, “Sir, something is happening in Canterlot.”

Blueblood continued to lean over the rail and stared at the scientists working below. “Don’t tell me,” he said sarcastically, “A building collapsed? That place has been rubble since we abandoned it.”

Jar waited until he was sure his commander was finished speaking before saying, “One of our cloud cams reported something glowing from the ruins.”

“Glowing?” Blueblood said, turning from the sight of his workers.

“Yes, sir,” the unicorn levitated a paper in front of him, something Blueblood hadn’t seen, and started to read off of it, “At 0534 hours a bright pink glow was reported as being seen from Canterlot. Specifically: Canterlot Castle.”

Blueblood’s eyes widened in disbelief, “Something glowing in the castle? Pink as well...” He mumbled to himself, “Her hair was pink before the…but of course she died…but her bones could still hold power…”

Jar waited patiently while his commander spoke, like a good solider.

Finally, Blueblood began walking towards the door Jar had entered from and said quickly, “We’ll need supplies for the trip, wagons, work horses, and we’ll have to wait for the damn weather to clear, and…”

He went on and on, and Jar wrote it all down as he kept pace. Like a good solider.

Crystal Mountains….

From the mountaintop, she could see the heavier clouds below coming their way. The rain would turn to snow soon. Another trial she and her people would have to endure.

One of her clanmates pointed suddenly, “Gilda, look!”

Gilda the griffon looked in the direction pointed. Far off in the distance, the mountain Canterlot was built on jutted into the sky. The thing pointed out was impossible to miss.

“What do you think that glow is?” another of her clanmates asked and recoiled when he realized he had spoken out of turn.

But Gilda was too fascinated by the glow to punish the overzealous male. Something about the glow brought back memories from long ago. She bit extra hard into the next bite of meat, before saying, “Once the snows pass, we’ll go find out.”

The male that had spoken out of turn smiled and reached for another piece of the pony they had caught. Gilda smacked him across the face without looking. She said in a quiet voice, “You’ll have what I allow you to have and nothing more.”

Canterlot Peak…

A pair of goggles was handed to him. He scrunched up his face at them. Goggles impaired vision too much, he hated them. But he took them and put them on without fuss. The rest of his team followed his lead. It was important to lead by example.

The scout led them up to the surface through tunnels long since abandoned. They were sometimes used for training, but not often.

“Here,” the scout said in his gravelly voice, “Is just a little further.”

“That’s what you said three tunnels ago,” Wrench complained from down the line.

“Dogs!” Steel barked. His Iron Dogs snapped to attention behind him. He turned to the scout, “Lead on.”

Soon they were staring out a hole in the side of the mountain. A bright pink glow radiated from the buildings close to the ruined castle. The falling snow and dirty goggles made it difficult to tell where it was coming from.

“So?” the scout asked quickly, “Is good?”

Steel stared at the glow a little longer before signaling his team to turn back down the tunnel. To the scout he said, “’Is good’, scout. Extra rations for you tonight.” The scout’s eyes lit up like Steel had just granted him another month to live.

Though, Steel thought, that wasn’t far from the truth.

Ponyville...

Skadi screamed as the snow that made up her monstrous body began to melt. The heaters did their job better than Othershy ever expected. In seconds the giant creature was falling to the ground in a sloshy heap.

Skadi tried one last time to kill Fluttershy by snapping down on her with her massive jaws, but by then the snow had already lost its density. The jaws snapped shut and cushioned Fluttershy’s fall, sending water in every direction.

The glow that had captured Othershy’s attention winked out. The heaters, for wiring or other technical reasons, all stopped at once. The clouds overhead slowly regained control of the airspace.

Snow quietly drifted down on the shivering pony below.

Othershy was down in the square in an instant. She wondered how long ago Fluttershy had taken their body back. She let the thoughts die early. Useless thinking.

Skadi, reduced back to her alicorn form, laid breathing heavily in the snow. Othershy turned her back on her and started to walk towards Fluttershy. She felt the alicorn start to rise and stopped walking. Dark chains rose from around Skadi and wrapped themselves around her.

Othershy spoke without turning, “Like me, you cannot be killed. But I won’t let you do whatever you want.”

“I can kill her!” Skadi yelled as the chains grew tighter, covering every inch of her, “I can end this!”

“What’s the point?” replied Othershy, “She has plans within plans within plans, and we’re just pawns in her game. We can’t beat her no matter how hard we try.”

A chain started to coil around her head but Skadi jerked away and screamed, “So you’re giving up?! You’ll just lock yourself inside her head and hope everything turns out fine?! You’re as insane as she is!” The chains finished their work and Skadi could speak no more.

Othershy thought about the alicorn’s words a moment before softly saying, “We’re all insane.”

Fluttershy jerked awake. Her whole body was freezing cold. She was laying in wet snow and her mane dripped water. Motion from the edge of her vision had her head jerking towards it.

“Fluttershy,” Othershy said. The shadow pony was standing over her.

Fluttershy tried to speak but her body ached all over. It felt like something had been squeezing her…Skadi, of course. They had done it! They beat her!

Othershy spoke softly, “I’m done, Fluttershy. I can’t make you see the truth, and you don’t even want me to anymore.”

She got her legs under her but they shook. Her friends! They were in the Town Hall waiting for her!

“I’m going to take Skadi and…we won’t ever bother you again,” Othershy continued, “So…leave us alone, alright?”

She took a step forward, then another, then another. The Town Hall’s open doors dominated her view.

“…goodbye, Fluttershy…”

She felt odd for a moment, like she had gotten lighter somehow. It made it easier to walk. She moved faster and faster until she reached the doors and-

Inside was everypony! They were safe and happy and-

Girls! You’re all alright! I don’t know what I would have done without you all…

I would give anything to be with you…

Othershy watched Fluttershy’s memories pass her by. They flowed around her, flat squares of light in the darkness. Most were from the past, changed and deformed. She didn’t bother trying to fix them as they passed.

For no reason in particular, she re-watched the memory of Fluttershy getting up and walking to the Town Hall. It was a powerful moment for her: the moment she gave up on the pony that created her. What was she now that she had no purpose? Were these thoughts really her own?

Lifting a dark hoof, she was about to let the memory flow away but stopped. In the corner of Fluttershy’s eye was something Othershy hadn’t noticed before. The shadow pony leaned forward. Something was in the snow leading away from the first house where Fluttershy had wired the heater herself, the heater Othershy had assumed she had rigged with a timer. But what were these…

“…hoofprints?”

Chapter 10 - Whatever You Want is Fine

Four years, nine months after meteor...

“Today you learn to fly, students!”

A black hoof slowly dipped into the colorful stream. Images could be seen within the water, flowing onward. It reflected nothing, for there was nothing to reflect.

“Oh, you’re just so cute! My little angel… oh! I know! I’ll call you, Angel… ”

The images flowed around the hoof that invaded the stream. They would come close, yet never touch the extended limb. Red eyes watched them pass. They glowed brightly once.

“Do you know what I am, little Fluttershy? You were the one that created me, you know… when you tried to push all your hate and anger away, where did you think it went?”

The dark pony jerked her hoof out of the stream. The voices in her head were suppressed to a whisper, one she could ignore. They would never fully quiet.

Othershy followed the stream upriver with her eyes. It stretched on to infinity. She had once spent considerable time walking alongside it. Nothing ever changed. The ground under her hooves was black and stony. The sky was the same color.

“The mind is an amazing place, wouldn’t you say?”

Othershy’s eye twitched and a chain clinked, cutting off the voice. How long have I been here, she wondered. Time meant nothing in the endless void she occupied.

“A prison you could easily escap-”

The shadow pony stomped her hoof and a chain clinked again, turning the voice into a muffle. She turned and looked upon Skadi. The alicorn was standing, yet dark, glowing chains covered every inch of her. She stood completely still.

She’s back quicker, this time, thought Othershy. Skadi was constantly loosening her chains, forcing the shadow pony to keep an eye on her. She had resorted to sending the alicorn deep into the recesses of Fluttershy’s mind where little thought to her would mean little to no resistance. However, the alicorn had returned every time, chains slipping.

Othershy wasn’t really sure whether her return had been faster this time, either. It was impossible to tell.

While she was thinking, she saw the chains around Skadi’s lips slowly slip open. Even if the effort took hours, Othershy was certain Skadi would still constantly escape her chains.

The chains uncovered the alicorn’s lips, yet she did not speak. They stopped moving as well. Othershy stared daggers at the only other being occupying the area. What are you?

A grin spread on Skadi’s lips. “What,” she said slowly, “are you?”

Othershy opened her mouth to respond when a sudden light to her right drew her attention. Four bright lines slowly came into existence to form a square. Darkness within the square began to waver. A new memory was being created.

Growling low, Othershy turned and began walking upstream. She despised these new memories. They were unreal depictions of the outside world, seen through the eyes of a madpony.

“Leaving so soon?” Skadi called after her. “What if she wakes to find a harsh reality?”

Othershy stopped but kept her rump to Skadi. It’s true that she had considered the very same thought before; that Fluttershy would wake up and be cured of her madness. But every new memory was the same happy world with the same happy ponies. To Fluttershy, everything was fine.

“What if?” Skadi said again. Othershy could feel Skadi’s grin against her back. Sighing, the shadow pony turned and walked back to her previous post.

Both pegasus and alicorn watched as the memory began. It would show them everything Fluttershy saw that day. Powerful images would drip down from the floating screen into the stream below to become permanently remembered. Fluttershy’s daily routine, however, hadn’t changed in months. Not since the snow began in earnest.

The black image slowly separated horizontally…

Yawning, Fluttershy opened her eyes and peered around her room. Her gaze swept over the window for a moment. Snow fell heavily, as it had done for many weeks now. But it didn’t upset her. There was plenty of food stored up to last out the snow. In addition to that, Pinkie Pie had been visiting when they got snowed in.

Fluttershy smiled and gently moved Angel so she could crawl out of bed. The alarm clock on her dresser hadn’t gone off yet. She quietly disabled it and began to descend the stairs.

Othershy sighed and closed her eyes. Though Fluttershy believed all she saw was fine, the reality was far from it. Her bedroom had bones of many different ponies scattered around along with wire and tape and glue. The pegasus had convinced herself that no pony needed healing anymore, so she stored the extra bones in case one of them had an “accident”.

“What am I missing?” Skadi asked and jerked her head around. The chains still covered her eyes.

Othershy growled out her reply, “You can see it just fine.” Skadi continued her exaggerated movements to find the source of the sound. Her chains clinked together noisily. Sighing in annoyance, Othershy mentally removed the chains around Skadi’s eyes.

The alicorn blinked and exclaimed, “Ah! Much better!” She looked down at Othershy and gasped, “A moving shadow!”

“Just shut up and watch!” snapped Othershy.

Fluttershy made no sound as she crept on the rug. It extended from the foot of the stairs to the front door. Another rug lay just under the couch. On top of the couch was a bunched up mass under a thick blanket. A pink tail poked out one end and draped off the couch.

Once at the couch, Fluttershy brought her hooves up and gently stroked down the blanket. She spoke softly, “Time to get up, Pinkie Pie.”

The pink earth pony turned and poked her head out from under the blanket. Her sleepy eyes blinked a few times before she tried to retreat under the covers again.

Laughing, Fluttershy pulled the blanket down off Pinkie Pie’s head. “Come on, Pinkie Pie! You said you’d let me do your hair today.”

Pinkie Pie grumbled but smiled back at Fluttershy. “Fiiiiiine. Your housey, your ruleys.”

“If that was true, you would let me sleep on the couch and you could have my bed, silly filly,” Fluttershy jokingly scolded the earth pony as she untangled herself from the blanket. In her wiggling, the blanket fell from the couch to the floor-

“What in the underworld,” Othershy gasped. Pinkie Pie was normally just a skeleton stuck together any way Fluttershy could, as any pony in Ponyville was. Yet, the Pinkie Pie Othershy saw was not the one she remembered.

“By me,” Skadi said, “What did she do to her?”

Pinkie Pie’s bones were covered in what appeared to be pillows wrapped with pink cloth. Felt eyes were attached where her eye sockets were. Her cutie mark was also replaced with a felt version of her balloons. With her mouth closed a pony might have been fooled into thinking they were looking at an alive and well Pinkie Pie.

Othershy screamed in frustration. “Is that your answer?! How far will you take this charade!?” In anger, she turned and started marching away from the screen.

Skadi, however, kept her eyes glued to the screen. She called to the retreating pony, “Something is wrong.”

“No shit!” Othershy turned and yelled back. “Everything is wrong!”

Skadi continued to gaze at the screen, saying, “If you look closer, you will see.”

Gritting her teeth, Othershy stomped back to her previous position and gazed up at the moving picture. “What?” she asked angrily.

“If you haven’t noticed it yet then keep watching,” Skadi answered.

Both ponies on screen were in the kitchen now. Fluttershy enjoyed moving everypony else around. Now, trapped with Pinkie Pie, she tended to move the pink pony around the house more than normal.

“Some tea, Pinkie?” Fluttershy asked sweetly as she turned on the stove. Though she already knew what Pinkie Pie would say, she still asked every day out of courtesy.

“Oh, yes, please!” Pinkie Pie said with a smile. The party pony’s smile could light up a room. Fluttershy loved staring at it-

“What is that?!” Othershy cried out and extended a hoof towards the screen. She pointed at Pinkie Pie’s teeth, but the image changed too rapidly for her to see them well. “Her teeth, too?”

“I imagine…” Skadi stopped and barked out a laugh. “I imagine, how fitting.” Othershy stared daggers at her until she continued. “I imagine she left no part of her unattended. If you had been paying attention, you would have noticed that already.”

Othershy growled at the alicorn but jerked her head back to the screen. What the hell are you doing, Fluttershy? She thought.

Pinkie Pie rocked in her chair in contained excitement. Ever since she had become a permanent guest at Fluttershy’s home, she had visibly worked to contain her normally all-over-the-place behavior. It made Fluttershy happy knowing her friend cared about her so much that she would change for her.

Still, Fluttershy was nervous. She had planned for this day for many weeks now. If it didn’t go the way she planned then she might lose a friend forever. If it went perfect…

“Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy found herself asking suddenly, “We’re best friends, right?”

Pinkie Pie gave her a questioning look. “Everypony is my best friend. Twilight and Rainbow Dash and Applejack and Rarity and Lyra and-”

“Oh, I know!” Fluttershy interrupted her friend before she named every pony in Equestria. “What I mean is…we’re very, very close friends, right?”

“Well of course we are, silly!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “We’d have to be to stay cooped up in a house all winter.” She beamed, happy with her answer.

“Well…um…do you ever…” Fluttershy stumbled on her words and fell quiet.

Pinkie Pie leaned in, asking, “Ever what?”

“Do you ever…want to be more tha-”

“Did you catch it that time?” Skadi asked loudly, cutting off the rest of Fluttershy’s words.

Othershy shook with rage and nearly screamed. Instead she turned her head slowly towards Skadi and replied, “I wasn’t focusing on it that time. I was trying to see what Fluttershy was talking about. Now be quiet so I can!” She turned her attention back to the screen quickly.

“…oh…well, Fluttershy, you know I alwa-”

“It’s very simple,” Skadi practically yelled, “Just focus on her teeth when she talks.”

“You son of a mule, shut up!” Othershy couldn’t stop herself from screaming. The chains around Skadi’s head returned and wrapped her mouth shut. They were normally just tight enough to get the job done, but Othershy’s anger caused them to tighten further. Small beads of red seeped out from between chains cutting into flesh. Her eyes, however, betrayed not the slightest hint of pain nor emotion.

But Othershy didn’t care right then. She turned her attention back to the screen.

Fluttershy hugged Pinkie Pie, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Oh, Pinkie Pie! You have no idea how happy that makes me!” she said.

Pinkie Pie had tears in her eyes too. She nuzzled Fluttershy softly and said, “I think I can relate.” They both laughed.

The screen went black. As quietly as they had appeared, its borders slowly faded. The darkness that had filled it fell into the stream without making a splash, the multicolored water simply absorbing it.

Othershy grit her teeth. Why now, she thought.

When the memories stopped flowing in suddenly it only meant one thing: Fluttershy was changing her world. She would never admit it, however, and her mind would never record the events. The pegasus was completely oblivious to her own handiwork, making up excuses for the changes offhandedly. The imagined memories would become twisted messes and fall into the stream with loud splashes.

The entire process made Othershy cringe every time she saw it. Hours upon hours of twisted memories and thoughts.

Chains clinked behind her. “May I speak now?”

“Do what you want,” Othershy growled out, “I’m leaving. I have no need to see what will happen next.”

“But you’re going to miss the best part,” said Skadi with a pout.

Othershy turned to the alicorn. “As I’ve said, I have seen this dozens of ti-” She froze as her eyes looked into Skadi’s. The facets in the alicorn’s eyes were sparkling. Something about them made Othershy want to stare into them for ever and ever.

A loud splash jolted the shadow pony. She turned to the stream expecting to see the first of many twisted memories forming, but instead was greeted with slowly appearing straight black lines.

She frowned, only one fake memory? She looked back at Skadi, but the alicorn was looking at the forming view-screen. Othershy narrowed her eyes but turned back to look at the screen as well.

An image slowly formed within the floating square. Fluttershy appeared to be at the bottom of the stairs up to her room. What struck Othershy instantly was how dark it was.

It wasn’t uncommon for Fluttershy to create entire days to hide the fact that she was manipulating the world. But there would have been many, many more twisted memories.

“Just what is going on here… ?” Othershy said aloud. Her eyes flickered suddenly. She spun towards Skadi and pointed. “You! You sped up time here!”

Skadi kept her eyes on the screen but grinned, speaking softly, “I just wanted to skip past the filler to the main event, didn’t you?”

“You have no right to control things here!” Othershy screamed. Her mind was working overtime trying to figure out just how much power Skadi had. “Cross me again and I wil-”

“DO WHAT?!” Skadi boomed. Everything that was their surroundings shook. Fluttershy dropped to the floor and cried out, forelegs coming up to cradle her head. Othershy shrank back from the alicorn with wide, terrified eyes. Skadi slowly turned her head down to look at the smaller pony before her. “You may contain me, but if you try to destroy me I will take you and this entire mind with me.” Smiling, she turned her head back to the screen and said sweetly, “Now, then, let’s watch our favorite program together.”

Shaking, Othershy slowly turned around and looked up at the screen.

Fluttershy rubbed her head. “Owie,” she said softly. A sharp pain had shot through her head for just a moment. The pain had vanished as suddenly as it came and all she could do was shrug. “Probably nothing.”

Her gaze drifted back to the stairs. Pinkie Pie had finally agreed to sleep in Fluttershy’s bed. It made Fluttershy’s stomach feel funny. That had been the end of the discussion, for now. But the pegasus wanted to check up on Pinkie Pie before heading to bed. “Just to make sure she is comfortable,” she said to herself.

Hesitantly, Fluttershy started up the stairs. There was light emitting from the second floor, so she knew Pinkie Pie was awake. “Just going to pop in for a second,” she reassured herself.

Othershy, though troubled by Skadi’s reveal, couldn’t help thinking, what is she so scared of?

Fluttershy took the last few steps at a trot so as not too look strange. “Pinkie Pie?” she called out.

“Here,” Pinkie Pie responded from the bed. The blankets were piled on and up to her neck. She looked over at Fluttershy as she approached.

“Are you warm? I could get more blankets if you want,” said Fluttershy nervously.

“You already gave me five,” Pinkie Pie giggled, “you won’t have any for yourself!”

“I… you’re right… ” squeaked the pegasus. “Well… goodnight… ” She turned and started towards the stairs.

“Fluttershy, wait!” Pinkie Pie shifted on the bed, making it squeak. Fluttershy turned back to Pinkie Pie. “You could… sleep here too, if you want… like a slumber party!”

“I don’t know, Pinkie… after what we said today… ”

“It’s ok, Fluttershy… ” Pinkie Pie lifted blankets up. Fluttershy bit her lip. She could see Pinkie Pie beneath the blankets. She could see everything.

Fluttershy slowly walked to the bed, staring into Pinkie Pie’s eyes. Her front legs came up and she crawled in. Pinkie Pie held the blankets as the pegasus scooted closer. The earth pony brought her front leg down when Fluttershy was fully in. It draped over the pegasus’s neck.

For a few seconds they just stared at one another. It became clear that neither knew where to go from there. Fluttershy started to feel nervous again. Her eyes began to tear up.

Pinkie Pie noticed right away and wrapped her friend in a hug. “It’s alright, Fluttershy,” she said softly. “We don’t have to do anything yet. Whatever you want is fine.” She softly kissed the pegasus’ cheek. “Don’t cry.”

Fluttershy moved away from Pinkie Pie slightly. The earth pony looked confused and turned her head. There Fluttershy was. Their lips met.

To Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie’s kiss tasted like-

“Candy,” Othershy said, her stomach almost betraying her. “Her teeth are candy.”

“She must have made it herself for just this moment,” Skadi commented nonchalantly.

“You knew she was doing this, didn’t you?” asked the shadow pony. But Skadi was silent.

The first kiss left them both breathless.

The second had Fluttershy pressing herself against Pinkie Pie. The pink pony returned the pressure. Fluttershy’s legs started to wrap around-

Othershy closed her eyes and turned from the scene. “She’s going to… ”

Silently, Skadi lowered her lips near Othershy’s ear. Softly, she spoke, “You let her do this. You knew it was the logical conclusion. And now you have to watch it.”

Tears streamed down Othershy’s black fur. She opened her eyes and stared at the mockery of life, of love, before her.

Her hooves on Pinkie Pie’s hips, Fluttershy pressed. Sensation rocketed through her. Pleasure unlike anything she had ever experienced. She locked her lips with Pinkie Pie’s and tasted her lover. The kiss made her more hyperactive, made every motion feel more spectacular.

Pinkie Pie looked out of breath but didn’t complain. She never said to stop or slow down. The pink pony did whatever Fluttershy wished, her love so deep for the pegasus. Any kiss was returned. Any pressure responded to.

Fluttershy had never felt so alive. She climbed atop Pinkie Pie, straddling her. Smiling down, front legs to either side of Pinkie Pie’s head, she asked softly, “Are you ready?”

Smiling back, Pinkie Pie nodded.

Fluttershy hooked her lower legs around the inside of Pinkie Pies and brought the pink pony’s up. Pinkie Pie was amazingly flexible, her lower legs bending until her hooves almost touched her head. Front legs wrapping around Pinkie Pie’s legs and body, Fluttershy peered down the length of her body to her lover’s neither region.

In her mind she imagined the thing she most wanted to do: crawl down and go at her friend like the pie her name suggested she was. But something pushed her to pursue her own pleasure first. Something inside said she deserved it for healing her friends, her town, for all those months and years. It was selfish and she knew it.

But she deserved it.

Down came her body to grind against Pinkie Pie’s. The pink pony gasped and moved without thinking. Fluttershy growled, her weight pinning Pinkie Pie down.

She was going to get what she wanted.

To Othershy, time seemed to stop. Her gray world darkened. The light from the viewer drew her shadow behind her.

And Fluttershy raped the corpse of Pinkie Pie in front of her.

The words came from the shadow pony’s lips softly, “There’s… nothing I can do anymore… ”

“You still held some small hope that she would recover,” stated Skadi. “And now you know the truth: she will never recover. She is as gone as the pony she is rutting.”

“SHUT UP!” screamed Othershy, causing Skadi to take a step away from the pony. She continued to stare at the viewer. Fluttershy was staring into Pinkie Pie’s patchwork eyes. Reality meant nothing to her anymore. “... do it… ” Othershy said quietly.

Skadi’s weary gaze turned into a smirk. “I could, if I truly wanted to. But I don’t.”

Her voice still low, Othershy replied, “You’ve seen what she is… there is no hope for her anymore… end this… ”

The alicorn stared down at the pony for a long while. Othershy sat with her head hunched, no longer able to look at the scene. Her thoughts had gone from sick to depressed to oblivion. I welcome my death, she thought, to end my suffering. To end her suffering. Just… to end.

Skadi sighed and slowly started to walk away. She called behind her, “Not yet. You still have much to do before you can die.”

Othershy raised her head slightly. “What can I do?” she asked as she turned to the alicorn.

Skadi laid down on a soft pillow and folded her legs under her. No chains covered her body. With a wave of her hoof, a chess set appeared between her and Othershy. Gesturing, she replied, “For now: you wait.”

Head hung, Othershy walked over to Skadi but stopped. Her eyes trailed back to the viewer, to Fluttershy still having her way with Pinkie Pie. Skadi sighed and got to her hooves, “We can wait somewhere away from here, if you like.”

Othershy nodded dimly and started walking away from the river. She was on a road she could not see. But it was there, she knew.

Skadi looked in the viewer a while longer. Fluttershy, muscular, hard-working, tireless Fluttershy could continue on for hours. The alicorn thought absently, she’s going to grind that pony into dust.

She closed her eyes and sighed. This wasn’t how things were supposed to turn out.

Her tail twitching in irritation, Skadi turned and started after Othershy. The pony within the pony is the only thing between Fluttershy and a quick death, she thought.

When winter ends, so will this fairytale.

Chapter 11 - Thousands: Part One

Five years, six months after meteor...

The kettle sat quietly on the electric stove. Pinkie Pie narrowed her eyes at it.

Smiling, Fluttershy said softly, “A watched pot never boils, Pinkie.”

Pinkie Pie frowned and turned away. “How will I know if it’s boiling if I don’t watch it?”

Fluttershy licked her hoof and turned the page in the book she was reading. “It will whistle, just like last time,” she explained, “It’s the same kettle we’ve used before.”

“Oooooh, I know,” Pinkie Pie pouted. Her chair rocked side to side as she wiggled impatiently.

Frowning now, the pegasus lowered her book slightly and asked, “Is something bothering you, Pinkie Pie?” Fluttershy had noticed Pinkie’s behavior change ever since the snow outside had become rain a few days ago. The piled snow was taking its time melting, however, so they remained trapped inside.

Pinkie Pie frowned back. “I’ve been cooped up too long!” she cried out and rocked her chair further, “I need to go oooouuuuttttt!”

Placing her book on the side table beside her, Fluttershy rose and peered out her window. The snow was just over the sill. She turned back to Pinkie Pie with a smile and said, “Tomorrow, alright?”

The pink pony nodded but continued to rock. It’s going to be a long day, thought Fluttershy with a sigh.

As Fluttershy had said, the following morning the door to her cottage was pushed open for the first time in months. Pinkie Pie rushed outside even though a cold rain still fell. The pegasus followed her love outside and peered up into the sky.

Deep gray clouds rolled overhead, but sunlight peeked through them in a few scattered spots. It was not the endless gray it had been before. Fluttershy sighed in relief. A part of her had dreaded the returning rain and its dark clouds, but it appeared to her that spring would come soon.

While she mused, Pinkie Pie hopped around the yard, seemingly overflowing with joy. She sang, “Outside, outside, finally outside!” Her hops continued over the bridge and off towards Ponyville.

Fluttershy started to call after her but stopped. She didn’t want to slow Pinkie Pie any more then she already had all winter. I’ll find her in Ponyville again, she thought as she started off at her own pace.

The ground was hard underfoot, taking its time defrosting. The cold rain rolled off her raincoat and left her teeth chattering. Winter wasn’t giving up without a fight.

Her eyes scanned left and right as she walked. Nothing could have grown while the snow covered the land, but she still held out hope that something had. Starting on the trail to Ponyville she thought she saw something peeking out of the grown. Closer inspection revealed it to simply be a faded piece of green construction paper. “How strange,” she said aloud as she examined it.

The paper only held her attention for a few moments before her chattering teeth reminded her of her true goal: Ponyville. Fluttershy turned back onto the path and continued towards the town she hadn’t seen in months. Would everypony remember me? she wondered.

Inside, she knew they would. Her friends would never forget the one who helped them all recover after the meteor’s arrival. Even though it had caused a lot of pain to her friends, Fluttershy was almost grateful for the disaster. It had brought her closer to everypony and gave her a place in life that she had always wanted.

As she entered the park area just outside Ponyville, Fluttershy couldn’t keep her eyes off the looming buildings in the distance. It was still early so no lights yet signaled ponies rising yet.

An idea came to her then. A song everypony knows…

Her voice rose up slowly through the rain:

Lights began to wink on slowly in the homes she saw ahead. Fluttershy increased her pace.

Shutters gently swung open and sleepy heads poked out, picking up the chorus as Fluttershy continued.

Fluttershy smiled ear to ear as Ponyville woke and waved and sang. Just as she thought, everypony remembered her and welcomed spring with her.

Though she wanted to say good morning to everypony, Fluttershy quickened her pace towards Sugar Cube Corner, where she thought she would find Pinkie Pie. The shop had been Pinkie’s home for years before she had made the decision to move in with Fluttershy over the winter. Now she needed to tell the Cakes and get her things, something Fluttershy was sure the hyperactive pony was not doing.

Fluttershy found Mr. Cake outside checking the building for damage from the snow. She smiled and waved and received a wave and smile back. Stepping inside, she found Mrs. Cake wiping down the front counter. Fluttershy greeted her and asked, “Has Pinkie Pie come here yet?”

Nodding, Mrs. Cake pointed to the stairs. “She bounded up to her room just a moment ago. I heard singing outside, was that you?” she asked. Fluttershy blushed and nodded. Mrs. Cake smiled and replied, “It was beautiful.”

“Thank you,” Fluttershy blushed as she started up the stairs. She entered the long hallway that ran through the center of Sugar Cube Corner’s second floor. It had been months since she had visited Pinkie Pie’s room, and it took her a moment to remember which door was her friend’s. Fluttershy raised her hoof to knock, stopped herself, and walked in instead.

Her dear friend’s room was exactly how she remembered it. The Cakes must have been keeping it dusted for Pinkie Pie all winter, thought Fluttershy. Everything in the room looked pristine.

Pinkie Pie herself sat on her bed snuggling a small, green creature. Smiling, Fluttershy started over. “Hello, Gummy!” she greeted the tiny alligator. Gummy kept his big purple eyes on his owner, Pinkie Pie. “I think he missed you,” Fluttershy said.

“Of course he did!” Pinkie Pie replied and played airplane with her pet. “He’s going to love his new home!” She stopped suddenly. Her eyes met Fluttershy’s. “If that’s alright with you… ?”

Still smiling, Fluttershy nodded her agreement, sending Pinkie Pie into another game of airplane with Gummy. She rushed around the room with the alligator wrapped around her front hooves. The sight made Fluttershy giggle in amusement.

There was nowhere else in the world she would rather have been.

Moving Pinkie Pie into her house was a greater feat than Fluttershy had first realized. The party pony seemed to have an unlimited amount of stuff stashed all over Sugar Cube Corner. The days turned into a week, then two.

Finally, Fluttershy approached Pinkie Pie outside the earth pony’s previous home for a conversation. The rain was getting lighter by the day so the ponies decided to go on a walk, after much prompting by Fluttershy.

The situation was delicate, so Fluttershy kept the topics light for a time before saying, “Pinkie Pie, we need to talk about your stuff.”

The pink pony turned her attention away from Lyra and Bon Bon’s game of softball to Fluttershy. “What about my stuff? Did we forget something?”

“That’s the thing,” Fluttershy continued, “We still have a lot to go, and my cottage isn’t getting any bigger… I just don’t think we’ll have enough room for everything.”

“Don’t be silly!” said Pinkie Pie with a wave of her hoof. “Of course it will all fit! It fit in Sugar Cube Corner just fine!”

“But Sugar Cube Corner has a basement, and an attic, and you had an entire room to yourself, Pinkie… ” Fluttershy pressed. “You have to share the cottage with me, and Angel, and Gummy. It isn’t just you anymore.”

Pinkie Pie frowned. “But if I don’t take my stuff with me, what will happen to it?”

Seeing her plan working, Fluttershy went in for the metaphorical kill. “We can have a garage sale so everypony in Ponyville can enjoy the stuff you don’t need anymore. That way, everyone is happy!”

The frown on Pinkie Pie’s face turned to a pout, but she nodded. “You’re right, Fluttershy. I would rather everypony be happy then only be happy myself.”

Fluttershy wrapped her front legs around Pinkie Pie in a big hug. “I knew you’d understand!” she said and nuzzled the earth pony’s ear. Blushing, Pinkie Pie returned the hug and nuzzled back.

“Hey, what’s that?” Pinkie Pie asked suddenly. Fluttershy stepped away from her and followed her pointing hoof with her eyes. She was pointing towards an alley.

“I don’t see anything?” Fluttershy replied.

“Huh,” Pinkie Pie said with a scratch of her head. “I could have sworn I saw something.” The pink pony began walking towards the alley.

Brow furrowed, Fluttershy followed.

Within Fluttershy’s mind…

Skadi levitated a small, stone statue forward a space on a checkered board. “Go fish,” she said to the pitch black pony sitting across from her.

Othershy frowned. “Having fun?” she asked before moving a piece herself.

“We’re supposed to be having fun?” responded Skadi, countering Othershy’s move with one of her own.

The shadow pony fell backwards without a sound and stared at the infinite gray void above her. “I don’t know what we’re supposed to be doing, honestly.”

“Waiting, I believe,” Skadi said. The alicorn walked around the board and laid beside the other pony. When Othershy didn’t reply, Skadi continued, “Waiting for our chance.”

“That could be years!” screamed Othershy. “Can’t we put ourselves to sleep until that chance arrives?”

“And what if we miss it while we sleep?” countered the alicorn. “What if she dies while we’re blissfully oblivious?”

Othershy shot Skadi a glare. “We aren’t real. We wouldn’t die, we would just cease to exist.”

“Is that not dying?” Skadi reached out to stroke Othershy’s mane. The shadow pony recoiled from her hoof, rolling on her side away from the alicorn.

“A pony does not cease to exist just because their body no longer functions,” Othershy recounted softly. “Their legacy, their spirit, lives on in others. Twilight taught Fluttershy that a long time ago.”

“I suppose I am a representation of that, then?” the alicorn asked.

“I don’t even know what I am, what makes you think I know what you are?” the shadow pony spat.

Sternly, Skadi began, “Othershy-”

Her words were cut off as the gray void around them shook violently.

Skadi jolted to her feet and yelled, “It’s happening! We have to-”

Her words were cut off again, this time by bright yellow chains suddenly wrapping themselves around her body head to toe. She fell onto her side and struggled in vain as they tightened.

Othershy bolted towards the alicorn but found herself floating. The void was pulling her up. She screamed as loud as she could.

“FLUTTERSHY!”

She jolted awake. Light and colors assaulted her eyes. She slammed them shut again as fast as she opened them. Numbness filled her body. She was lying on her stomach on a bed of hay.

“Where in the underworld am I?” Othershy groaned. It was clear to her instantly that Fluttershy had left her body to her again, but it wasn’t in the same condition as before. What the hell happened to you, Fluttershy?

But her owner did not answer, in her mind or the real world. A heavy smell of medicine was in the air. Othershy opened her eyes again slowly. The rainbow of color she saw was from jars filled with liquids and plants of all kinds arranged on shelves along a wall. She could see them through an open doorway. Tilting her head around, she could see she was in somepony’s room, on somepony’s bed. It all looked and smelled familiar but her mind was moving so slow.

Somepony must have drugged Fluttershy, she thought. She must have switched with me to give herself a fighting chance. The idea that Fluttershy was out of commission, even temporarily, brought purpose to Othershy’s limbs. She could finally escape Ponyville and no pony could stop her.

Heaving herself up, she strained to get to her knees. Nausea assaulted her suddenly and she had to keep still till it passed. “I am getting out of here,” she encouraged herself quietly. With a burst of motion Othershy got to her knees.

And suddenly felt off balance. She toppled off the bed to her left, slamming her side into the ground. Pain jolted through her like nothing she had ever experienced. She cried out and wrapped her legs around herself unconsciously. That’s when she realized what had caused her unbalance.

Her right hoof felt her left wing on her back.

Her left hoof felt nothing.

The pain suddenly an afterthought, Othershy felt her back for her right wing. Her hoof pressed against a wound and she cried out in pain again. The wing was gone, severed cleanly.

What sort of sick… what… why…

The sound of a door opening in other room jerked Othershy’s head that direction. Another pony was there. Another living pony was there.

Or Fluttershy is making me think there is, Othershy thought suddenly. This could all be some sort of trick, some new game.

But her wing was gone, and something told her that not even Fluttershy was insane enough to cut off her own wing to get her way. The pony walking into the house-

“Fluttershy? Are you up?”

Feminine. Slightly deep. It had been so long since her ears had heard another pony speak that it took Othershy a moment to understand it. But it had happened. The other pony had spoken.

But it wasn’t a pony.

Zecora stopped walking as she entered the doorway. Othershy recalled the zebra with a mohawk, but now her hair was down like how she wore it on nightmare night. It partially covered the right side of her face. Her turquoise eye widened when she saw Othershy on the ground.

“No, no, no!” Zecora scolded, “You must rest! Return to your bed!”

But Othershy got to her hooves and backed away from the zebra. “What did you do to her? What do you want?” she growled.

Zecora suddenly seemed flustered. “Her? I’m trying to help you… ”

“You can help me by getting out of my way!” Othershy said and approached the doorway.

Looking unsure, Zecora nevertheless sidestepped out of the pony’s way.

As Othershy passed, she glared into Zecora’s visible eye and said, “Leave us alone.” The zebra shrank away from the glare. She’s not how I remember her…

But Othershy pushed the thought away. The door to Zecora’s hut was open and she took it. The sky was overcast but no rain fell. The pony didn’t know if that was normal or not, having not paid any attention to Fluttershy’s life in some time.

I don’t have much time; she could be back any minute.

Othershy took a moment to orient herself. The Everfree Forest was south of Ponyville, which meant she was already halfway to freedom. All she had to do was keep going south. And when Fluttershy wakes, I’ll convince her that Ponyville is south. We’ll keep going until-

A noise behind her spun her around. It was Zecora. The zebra was hiding partially behind the wall, staring at Othershy through the open doorway. Othershy glared at her but she only shrank back a little.

“Whatever… ” the pony sighed. There was nothing Zecora could do to stop her. Turning back to the path, Othershy started south. It took her a minute to get her balance right before she could trot. The effort reminded her of her lost wing.

It doesn’t matter, she told herself. I’d sacrifice both her wings for a chance to escape this hell.

The path she was on would lead her right out of Everfree Forest towards Dodge City. Or what’s left of it, that is. Othershy had no idea the scope of the meteor’s damage beyond Ponyville. If anything was left, she would scavenge what she could and continue south. From there she’d-

Othershy woke with a start. She was lying on her stomach, face in the dirt. It felt like she had fallen there. By the light around her it appeared a few hours had passed.

She was facing north.

Getting to her hooves, the pony shook the dirt off herself. She lifted a hoof and felt her head. It didn’t feel like anything had hit her. She was running along the path one moment and had fainted the next. Did Zecora drug me?

Further up the path was the zebra in question. Again, she hid half of herself behind a tree and watched Othershy intently. “What did you do to me?!” Othershy screamed at Zecora.

Zecora’s eye went wide with fear. “I… I didn’t do anything!” she said, shaking, “You just fell suddenly… then you turned yourself around on the ground… ”

Othershy’s scowl deepened. If that was true, then…

“Don’t come any closer, got it?” she said. Zecora nodded her understanding, a little too enthusiastically. The zebra was starting to get on the pony’s nerves.

Turning south, Othershy started off again. She mentally checked her to-do list of locations to hit and things she would need to find. A saddle bag is first. There should be one in-

Othershy woke with dirt against her face. It was getting darker now. A light rain had started. She screamed in rage. “ZECORA!” she yelled and got to her hooves, turning left and right in search of the zebra.

But Zecora hadn’t moved an inch. She was still standing half hidden by a tree, staring intently at the screaming pony. “It happened again… ” she said softly.

“It couldn’t have,” said Othershy, anger rising. “Only she could do that to me, and she’s-”

Clink

Othershy froze. For a moment, just for a fraction of a second, she could hear Skadi’s chains. But I haven’t chained Skadi since…

The pony shot off suddenly, headed north. Zecora scrambled to keep up with her. Othershy took a fork heading back towards Fluttershy’s cottage. Behind her, Zecora kept pace.

The sound of thunder could be heard from the north. A stray thought, a thunderstorm is coming.

Using her front legs, Othershy kicked in the cottage’s front door. It slammed open and came off its top hinge. “FLUTTERSHY!”

The living room was dark and quiet. Othershy stormed in and marched into every room on the first floor. She found nothing. As she reentered the living room from the kitchen she noticed Zecora had stopped at the home’s entryway.

You aren’t down here, so you must be up there! Othershy thought. She ascended the stairs to Fluttershy’s room. Every candle was out, leaving the room completely dark. But Othershy knew the room’s layout by heart. Her hooves brought her to the edge of the bed.

The eyes were starting to adjust to the darkness. The blankets on the bed covered something pony-sized. Othershy stared at the blankets. She took a deep breath to try and calm herself somewhat. It didn’t work. “What do you want?” she asked.

Fluttershy stirred slightly on the bed but didn’t respond. A bolt of lightning outside the cottage lit the room up for a half-second. Othershy saw her shadow extend over the empty bed.

“Well?” Othershy asked again. “Why did you do this to us? Why did you bring me here? TELL ME!”

The blankets stirred again. Fluttershy extended a hoof out from under the blankets, pushing something. It was a small, aged photograph of Pinkie Pie.

“What… in the… ” Othershy bit back her outrage. “You want Pinkie Pie? Fine, I’ll go bring her here and smash her over your fucking head!” She turned and started towards the stairs, stomping her hooves.

Zecora, just far enough up the stairs to peer into the room, nearly fell trying to get off the stairs and out of Othershy’s way. The pony just scoffed at her as she made her way through the living room.

“Pinkie Pie is… ”

Othershy stopped. “What did you say?” she asked Zecora.

Gulping, Zecora said again, “Pinkie Pie is gone.”

Othershy turned all the way around to face the zebra. “What do you mean, she’s gone? Fluttershy wouldn’t let anything happen to her. She’s obsessed with her.”

Zecora looked incredibly confused and slightly scared. “But… you’re Fluttershy… ”

“I AM NOT FLUTTERSHY!” Othershy exploded at her, taking an involuntary step towards Zecora in anger.

If the pony wasn’t in her way, it looked as if Zecora would have bolted out the front door right then and there. Instead, her knees buckled and her visible eye started to tear up.

Othershy bit down to prevent more obscenities from coming forth from her. Of course she thinks I’m Fluttershy, she realized. I LOOK like I am!

“Just… call me, Shy, alright?” she said as calmly as she could. “It’s all very complicated and I don’t have time to explain it to you right now.” Zecora nodded slowly but stayed on the floor. With a sigh, Shy asked, “Where is Pinkie Pie?”

“Froggy Bottom Bog… ” Zecora answered softly. “It took her there… ” Another bolt of lightning struck outside. The living room lit up for only a moment, but it was enough for Shy to see Zecora wince from it.

“What took her?” Shy asked with a frown.

“The thing that attacked you and ripped your wing off… if I hadn’t been there to help, you would have bled out… ” said Zecora, rising to her hooves.

And why exactly were you there? Shy wanted to ask but didn’t. Instead, she turned and headed out of the cottage. She now knew where she had to go and what she had to find, and that was enough for her.

But Zecora rushed out after her. “You can’t go there!” she screamed, “That thing will kill you this time!”

“Whatever it is,” Shy said over her shoulder, “I’m sure it’s not as bad as you think it is. Fluttershy probably rolled over as soon as she saw it. With all the muscles she’s gotten over the years, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Zecora trotted along beside Shy, looking nervous. She did not speak up again, however, and Shy enjoyed the silence. The path they took to the bog was fast, cutting through Everfree Forest in a nearly-straight line, eliminating the need for light which neither pony nor zebra had.

The only reason Shy knew they had entered the Bog was the sudden stickiness of the ground. Even after the meteor, the bog had retained its bogginess. With the snow and rain it most likely resembles the Bog of old already, she thought.

She turned to Zecora. “Alright,” she said, “Where is she?”

It was difficult to make out, but Shy saw Zecora point with a hoof. “The center of the bog. Please, let’s come back when it’s brighter… ”

As if on cue, the clouds above them parted. The full moon lit up Froggy Bottom Bog. Lightning rippled silently across the clouds, as if threatening to close them as quickly as they had opened.

Seeing her chance, Shy scanned the bog. There, on a small dry patch of land in the middle of the murky water, was the abomination once known as Pinkie Pie. She stood on all four hooves facing to the left. The fabric Fluttershy had wrapped her in was torn and dirty, revealing pink bone. No other creatures were visible. At the pony’s feet were small objects Shy couldn’t make out from that distance.

The clouds were beginning to close again. Shy stepped a hoof into the bog water.

The water a yard in front of her exploded upwards. A creature within the filthy water roared as it reared up. “BY THE NIGHT!” Shy screamed in terror. The creature towered over her, its body blocking the moon’s fading light. All she could see was its black silhouette and long, sharp claws catching the moonlight.

Zecora bit down on Shy’s tail and yanked her backwards. The motion saved Shy from getting smashed by the descending form of the creature. Both pony and zebra almost lost their footing as the ground shook. “RUN!” Zecora screamed at the still stunned pony.

Without wasting time with a response, Shy turned and ran back up the path. Zecora followed close behind. The roar behind her drowned out the next peel of thunder.

There came a point during their run that Zecora took the lead. The zebra led Shy back to her hut on the other side of Everfree Forest. Shy didn’t mind, preferring to focus her thoughts on what had just occurred over which direction she should run.

As soon as Zecora slammed the door to her hut behind them Shy was upon her. The pony tackled the zebra to the ground and pinned her neck with a hoof. “Move and I’ll kill you!” Shy threatened.

The hut was lit only by a few fireflies trapped in jars along the wall. Shy stared into Zecora’s visible eye and saw the zebra’s fear. Her black and white hair had fallen away from her face when she fell, though in the weak light Shy couldn’t quite see what it had hid. Even though she was whimpering, Zecora still brought a hoof up to cover her face when she realized her hair wasn’t.

“I was going to let you do as you please,” explained Shy, “Because, frankly, you’ve become nothing more than a quivering foal. You also say you fixed her up after… she was attacked. But now you’re going to explain what in the lower hells is going on!”

Zecora wouldn’t meet Shy’s eyes. In a shaking voice, she explained, “I came back to Ponyville because I… I wanted to see if there was anything left… ”

Liar. “Tell me about the monster. Do you know what it is? Where it came from?” Shy asked.

It was hard to for the zebra but she shook her head. “I just arrived and saw… Fluttershy. She saw me and started walking over, and that’s when it attacked her… she was holding Pinkie Pie and it grabbed her and rushed off… ”

“After ripping off Fluttershy’s wing?” As Zecora started to nod Shy pressed down with her hoof and yelled, “Why are you lying to me?!”

“I’m not! That’s what happened!” Zecora started struggling. Shy leaned on her more and kicked forward with her back leg into the zebra’s stomach. She curled up and ceased her struggling.

Shy leaned down and whispered into Zecora’s ear, “Is this part of her game? You can tell me. Is she setting this all up? Is she using you to get to me?”

Tears rolled down Zecora’s face. She whimpered and choked on her words.

“SPIT IT OUT!” Shy screamed inches from the zebra’s face.

The zebra broke down into sobs, crying out, “I don’t know what you’re talking about! Please, Fluttershy, stop!”

“DON’T CALL ME THAT!” Shy screamed and slammed her front hoof down. She missed Zecora’s neck by an inch, making a divot in the dirt. Zecora simply tried to make herself smaller and kept wimping for her to stop.

She doesn’t know anything… this isn’t a game... Shy stepped away from Zecora. Fluttershy won’t fight back, so she’s forcing me to instead. The pony started laughing softly. I can’t run. I’m trapped in this town from hell with a coward zebra. She won’t even let me talk to Skadi. Her laughter got louder and louder.

Zecora crawled around the laughing pony towards her room as quietly as she could. Shy fell to her knees, tears pouring from her eyes, lungs burning from laughter. She heard Zecora close the door to her room and lock it. As soon as she did, Shy fell to the floor.

There, her laughter turned to sobs until she succumbed to sleep.

Darkness as far as the eye could see.

“Oh my, it’s so dreary in here. It could use a pony’s touch!”

Shy turned around in the darkness. Fluttershy stood a few yards away, a teapot resting on a tiny portable stove beside her. Smiling, Fluttershy continued, “A nice carpet and some windows to let the sun in… that’s what we need!”

“There’s no floor, or walls,” responded Shy in a monotone. “What are you doing here?”

A cushion appeared under Fluttershy and she sat down on it. “Someone has to watch your home while you’re away,” she said.

Shy’s upper lip curled. “Where’s Skadi? What did you do to her?”

The most convincing confused eyes stared back at Shy. “Who?”

“Listen to me you little twit,” Shy began, approaching Fluttershy menacingly, “Pinkie Pie is gone. A monster took her away and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Waving a hoof, a cushion appeared across from Fluttershy. “Come, sit, enjoy some tea,” the pony said. “Though it will take a moment to-”

The mini-stove and teapot flew away as Shy bucked it. She turned and put her face inches from Fluttershy’s. “You are not Rarity, to speak like that. You are not Applejack, to rough it in the woods. You are Fluttershy. This is beyond you.”

Without a moment’s hesitation the pegasus replied, “I AM Fluttershy.” She leaned in and her tone grew bold. “I healed the town when they were hurt. I drew water from the Everfree Forest when they were thirsty. And if I could, I would protect them from that thing. But I can’t. Only you,” she raised her hoof at Shy, “Only you can.”

In a quiet voice, Shy explained, “That thing is going to rip us to shreds-”

Fluttershy leaned in and blew into Shy’s ear, sending a shiver down the other pony’s back. “How do you know if you’ve never tried?” she asked softly. “Besides, you haven’t even used your newest asset.”

With that, Fluttershy lifted her hoof and pushed Shy backwards. The other pony flew into the air, her scream ripping through the silence.

The strangest sound Shy had ever heard awaited her as she jolted awake. Her eyes roved the hut until she found the window. Sunlight illuminated the rainclouds outside but failed to penetrate them completely. On the window sill a bird stood looking in at her.

It was the first bird Shy had ever seen, though she instantly recalled what it was. “A blue jay… ” she said to no pony. The bird tilted its head at her before taking flight. It was out of sight in moments. Nature is returning…

She got her hooves under her and stood. It looked to be about midday. The door to Zecora’s room remained shut. Some “asset”, she thought. Shy walked to the closed door and pressed her ear to it. No sound came from inside, but a strange smell leaked out from under the door.

“Zecora?” she called while knocking lightly. “You in there?”

A squeak from a bedframe.

“Zecora,” Shy called louder. “I’m… ” going to stab you in the heart “sorry about last night. I wasn’t… ” going completely insane “feeling well. I feel a lot better now. You can come out.”

A quiet voice responded, “… Fluttershy?”

Shy slammed her front hooves against the door and bit her lip. In the nicest voice she could manage, “Not… Fluttershy, dear. It’s ‘Shy’.”

“… go away… ” came the quiet reply.

Listen to me, you piece of… “I know I can be a little… physical… and I’m sorry for that… but I need your help if I’m going to get Pinkie Pie back.” Shy tried to remember if the window inside Zecora’s room was open or not.

The reply came quicker this time. “I don’t want to help you,” said the zebra, “You should just give up… ”

“I can’t do that, sweetheart,” Shy said loudly as she moved quietly to the front door. “I need to get Pinkie Pie back for Fluttershy so she can come back. Don’t you want her to come back? She’s nicer than I am… ” She used her back hooves to slowly open the door and slip outside.

Zecora took a moment before saying something too softly for Shy to hear from outside. The pony was around the side of the hut in a flash. Though the hut’s window’s remained, they were black and dirty. Shy backed herself away from the hut and dug in her hooves. Gritting her teeth, she charged and leaped sideways. Her body smashed through the window into Zecora’s room.

The zebra was lying on her bed under her blankets. As soon as the window shattered she let out a scream, telling Shy exactly where she was. The pony shook herself off and jumped onto the bed.

“It’s alright, IT’S ALRIGHT, DAMNIT!” Shy ripped the blankets off of Zecora and pinned her down, wrapping her legs around her from behind. The zebra struggled like a mad cow. The pony pinned Zecora’s legs down with her own until the zebra stopped moving.

They laid there gasping for air for a time, both out of breath. Finally, Shy said, “There, see? Look how happy we are now that we’re together.” Zecora started whimpering. Shy resisted the urge to bite her neck till she bled out. “I’m not going to hurt you, see?” the pony said, leaning her head over the zebra’s shoulder and nuzzling her softly. Zecora stopped whimpering and her body relaxed somewhat. “There, see… mama’s got you… ” Shy had to grit her teeth to get the words out.

Slowly, Shy released her front left leg from around Zecora and stroked the zebra’s mane. Zecora let her. Shy kept speaking softly, “You’re going to help me, Zecora.” The zebra tensed up at the words. “Hey, hey, easy now… as long as I’m here, you’ll be alright… ” The tension slowly went out of Zecora. “Good girl… I’m strong, I’ll protect you… you just need to help me… ”

“... how?” Zecora asked quietly. Had she been able to see Shy’s evil grin right then, the zebra would have regretted ever asking.

“First, we need to find out what the monster is,” Shy explained, loosening her wrap on Zecora. “And then find out how to kill it so it never bothers us again.” A shiver went through Zecora while Shy spoke. The pony realized she was breathing onto the zebra’s neck. The thought of Zecora getting pleasure from her disgusted her, and she released the zebra fully from her embrace.

Zecora turned around and stared into Shy’s eyes. There was something in those eyes that captured Shy for only a moment before she realized she was looking into both the zebra’s eyes. The right side of Zecora’s face was badly burned, her eye peeking out from charred flesh. All the doubt in Shy’s mind that Zecora wasn’t real vanished. Fluttershy would never do this to another pony…

Zecora noticed Shy’s wide eyes and quickly turned away again. Shy wanted to ask what had happened to her but kept quiet. There will be time for that later, she decided. “Come on, the day is wasting,” she spoke, and got off the bed. “We’ll clean up here and head to the bog.”

“The bog?!” said a shocked Zecora. “But, but-”

Shy brought up a hoof to silence the zebra. “We need to figure out what it is before we can find out how to kill it, remember?” The pony looked down at the broken glass and sighed. “Where’s your broom?”

A hoof came up to block the rain from getting into her eyes. Zecora did the same beside her. When is this damn rain going to end… Shy thought. They laid side by side in the cover of some trees near the center of the bog. Neither wanted to get much closer.

So far, however, their prey eluded them. Shy heard Zecora’s stomach growl for the third time that day. The pony sighed, “We’ve been out here for hours. Whatever that thing is, it’s probably nocturnal.”

“And territorial,” Zecora added softly.

“Yes, and territorial… ” Shy stared at the motionless corpse of Pinkie Pie. It stared at nothing.

Zecora’s stomach growled again.

With a sigh of frustration, Shy started crawling backwards. She favored her shoulder where she hit the window. “We’ll get some food from Fluttershy’s house and head into town.”

“There’s food at my house, and it’s closer,” said Zecora, crawling after Shy. “I could make us something-”

Shy’s glare cut her off. “And where did you get that food from?” Eye widening, the zebra looked as if she would bolt any moment. But Shy just shook her head and continued crawling through the trees back to the path. She’s keeping something secret, but if I force her to tell me what it is I may lose her help…

As soon as she could, Shy stood up and started trotting. Though her legs were now covered in mud, she didn’t want to waste another second. Zecora hurried along after her, staying quiet. The zebra was quickly learning not to speak too often.

A book fell to the floor with a loud thud. “Careful, curse it!” Shy scolded Zecora. “These books are fragile as it is!”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” the zebra apologized again and again as she lifted the book with her hooves and cradled it.

“Just be more careful…” Shy said again and went back to reading. The book opened in front of her was a bestiary on the many creatures that used to roam Equestria. She had flipped through it until she got to swamp creatures, but the section was smaller than she expected.

“Too small to be a hydra,” she said aloud. “Swamp trolls don’t come this far north… none of these creatures sound like the thing we saw.”

Zecora gently placed the book she had beside Shy and said, “We couldn’t see it well… ”

“True… what’s this one?” Shy asked, turning to the new book. The cover depicted multiple dragons circling a white and blue sphere.

Zecora gulped down her fear before softly explaining, “I thought it might be a swamp dragon… ”

Shy ran a hoof over the book’s cover. “Maybe,” she said. “I’ll look through it.” The book was too thick for her to quickly flip it open with her nose, making her snort in frustration. Her hooves still had drying mud on them and it pained her to turn the pages with them. For the thousandth time she wished Fluttershy had been born a unicorn. “Then we could just zap the stupid thing… ”

On the other side of the library already, Zecora looked over when she heard Shy speak. Shy waved her off. “Keep looking for bestiaries. One of them has to be what we saw.”

“And then we’ll kill it…?” asked Zecora in a moment of courage.

Snorting, Shy replied, “I’ll kill it. You’ll most likely be hiding behind a tree.” She grimaced when some mud stuck to a page as she flipped it.

Being on the other side of the room seemed to grant Zecora more courage. She asked, “Why are you trying to get Pinkie Pie back? For… Fluttershy?”

“Yes, for Fluttershy. So that she’ll leave me alone,” Shy said monotonously, focusing on reading. The swamp dragon hunts mainly at night… “Did what we saw have wings?”

Zecora scratched her head with a hoof. The hair in front of her burn parted slightly, revealing the scar. “I don’t think so… it just looked big.” When Shy went back to the book, the zebra continued her questions, “Why do you want Fluttershy to leave you alone?”

“Because she wants to stay in these ruins with her dead friends and I don’t,” responded Shy automatically. “And she won’t let me leave.”

“So… ” Zecora paused and frowned. “You want to leave with Fluttershy?”

Shy slammed the book closed. “I did want that, yes! But not anymore!” She pushed the book away with her front hooves and stood. The sunset sent long shadows through the library. They calmed the pony. “It’s getting late, you should go home.”

The zebra had started slinking towards the door during Shy’s outburst but stopped when she stood. “What about you?”

“I’m staying here until I find out what in the abyss that thing in the swamp is,” the pony said. She walked over to the bookshelves and scanned them. Fluttershy had done her best to fix and maintain the wood, but the books themselves had suffered under the meteor blast. The ever changing weather patterns had also aged the books faster than normal. Several looked like they would crumble at the touch.

I wouldn’t have to reread all these if Fluttershy just told me what was in them…

A shuffling sound turned Shy around. Zecora was standing exactly where she had been when Shy told her to leave. Stamping down her anger, Shy asked, “What is it? Why are you still here?”

“I… I want to help you more… ” Zecora stumbled over her words. She gently poked her saddle bag lying beside her. “We brought a lot of food… we could sleep here tonight and-”

“Zecora,” Shy said as calmly as she could manage. “You have five seconds to exit this building and go home. Come back tomorrow.”

Zecora started shaking. “But I, I just-”

“Five,” the pony said, walking towards Zecora. “Four.”

Surprisingly, the zebra stood her ground. She continued to stammer, however, and Shy realized that Zecora was simply too scared to move.

“Sweet Celestia, save me,” Shy sighed. She walked around Zecora until the zebra was between her and the door. Rolling her eyes, Shy started pushing Zecora towards the door. The zebra quietly let herself be pushed, whimpering only once. Shy was suddenly glad they had left the door open.

Once the zebra was outside, Shy stepped back into the library. “Come back tomorrow morning, and don’t be late!” she told Zecora before slamming the door shut. Ear to the door, Shy waited until she heard Zecora trot away before letting out a sigh of relief. What an annoyance…

“I think she’s sweet.”

Shy nearly jumped out of her skin. She recognized the voice a moment later and turned. Fluttershy stood next to the saddle bag of food, staring down inside. “She packed a lot for you even though she was the hungry one, you know.”

“Unless you’re here to impart the knowledge of these books to me, go away!” Shy seethed. Her hooffalls echoed around the library as she walked towards a shelf. “I want to figure out what that monster is as soon as I can.”

Smiling sweetly, Fluttershy fell back into her rump. “I would tell you, but…”

“But what?” the half winged pony asked. “But it would ruin the little game you set up? You want to see me squirm?!” In a fit of rage, Shy swept the bookshelf before her clean of books. They tumbled unto the floor with pages from a few flying into the air.

The outburst didn’t faze Fluttershy in the slightest. “But,” she said, taking a slightly bruised apple out of the saddlebag and looking it over, “That monster isn’t in any of these books.”

“Not…? Of course it has to be here, somewhere!” Shy yelled. “Monsters don’t simply come into being!” Not ones from our time, anyways…

Images and thoughts suddenly flew through her mind. Fluttershy had read every book in the library, some more than once. All the knowledge she had acquired opened wide for Shy to see. Only one book seemed to suggest the monster she had seen.

“Dark magic… ” she breathed out the words. “It was outlawed a thousand years ago.”

But Fluttershy just shook her head slowly. “Who is left to enforce it? Celestia and her royal guards from Canterlot are gone. Only here, in Ponyville, is it safe anymore. The effects of the meteor on Equestria must have been too much for some ponies.”

Dark magic, monsters, Equestria… A smile crept across Shy’s lips. She stalked around Fluttershy. “This is another one of your games, isn’t it?”

The sigh and downcast expression Fluttershy put on would have convinced any other pony. “I’ve never played ‘games’ with you, Shy,” she sighed out.

“This is all too perfect for you: a monster enters Ponyville and takes away your beloved corpse.” Shy kicked a book in front of her towards Fluttershy.

The pegasus side-stepped the missile easily. “I asked for your help because you’re the only pony left with the capacity to-”

“To what?! Feel anything other than ‘love and kindness’?” Shy yelled and kicked another book. This one never came close to Fluttershy, and the pegasus didn’t move an inch.

Fluttershy’s narrowed gaze betrayed her sweet voice. “You’re the only pony who could hurt another living being. No pony in Ponyville could ever hurt anypony, even a monster.”

“So it’s not that you won’t, it’s that you can’t?” Shy replied bitterly. “Did you ever realize that I really have no incentive to help you at all? You’ve lost the one thing you love most in your life and you can’t ever get it back-”

This time, Fluttershy’s raised voice cut Shy off. “Pinkie Pie means more to me than you will ever know! I would do anything for her!”

“Except what she needs you to do,” said Shy quietly. She turned and started towards the stairs to the second floor. “Excuse me but this conversation is boring me to sleep.”

“You want freedom, don’t you?”

Shy stopped dead in her tracks.

“Get Pinkie Pie back and I’ll give you your freedom.” Fluttershy proposed.

“Freedom from… what? Your mind?” came Shy’s questions. Freedom… a chill ran down her spine at the thought.

“Freedom to come and go as you please. You would no longer be confined,” the yellow pony explained.

“You’ll give me the body? Our body? Forever?” Shy couldn’t help a tremble from creeping into her voice. To have full control of Fluttershy’s body and mind meant she could find a way to escape. Or even simply be able to trot out of Ponyville…

“Freedom, forever,” Fluttershy reiterated.

Even through the torture of watching Fluttershy descend into madness, being betrayed again and again, a small glimmer of hope sparked in the back of Shy’s thoughts. All she had to do to finally be free was kill one creature.

“Deal.”

The morning seemed to never want to appear to Shy. She lay on her back on what was once Twilight Sparkle’s bed, staring at the patched up ceiling above her. Thoughts of freedom sought to float into her mind but she denied them. Closing her eyes, she focused completely on her goal.

The monster.

It was a completely new species, most likely created within the past few years with dark magic. That much she knew. The how and why were unimportant to her. Even its reasons for taking Pinkie Pie, while only speculations, were pushed aside and replaced with darker thoughts of death.

These thoughts came almost as easily. Fluttershy had taken all those dark and terrible things, like death and pain, and locked them away into Othershy. Now, Shy was thankful to have them. They helped her envision a plan, one Fluttershy had read about while consuming the library of its knowledge. One only Zecora could help her with…

Always with the damn coincidences…

Eventually morning did come, and Shy rose from the well-maintained mattress rested, even though sleep had only come sporadically. Breakfast came in the form of some stale bread and a carrot and nothing to wash it down with. Shy just sighed away her displeasure. She was getting used to the feeling already.

Her eyes scanned the library as she ate. Inside her mind she sought out the location of the book Fluttershy had read long ago. It was during one of the pony’s darker moments where she buried herself in stories of strange magic and occult rituals. None of the practices mentioned were performed anymore, at least not in Equestria. They’re still passed on, however. Chomping down the last bit of carrot, Shy stood and walked to where she thought the book was.

She was still scanning the shelves when Zecora arrived. On her back was a light saddlebag. Her hair stuck to her face wetly but still managed to cover the scars on the right side. ”I brought some more food,” she said quietly as she entered, shaking from the cold rain.

Shy scanned the zebra a moment before waving her off. “Put it with the other one. And don’t bring anymore until we finish what we have.”

Zecora nodded and did as she was told, tracking mud inside. Sighing, Shy went back to scanning the shelves. Seeing the pony busy, Zecora went to the other side of the library and started scanning the books around her as well.

It didn’t take long for Shy to find what she was after. Licking her lips and cringing as she did so, the pony used her mouth to pull out the tome and place it on the floor gently. She had cleaned her hooves on Twilight’s blanket the night before and was now able to turn pages without regret.

“Perfect,” she said softly to herself. She looked back over her shoulder and shouted to the zebra, “Zecora! Come here!” Zecora was quick to comply, trotting the distance and sitting herself before Shy like a trained dog, though some fear showed in her eyes. Shy enjoyed the sight. “What potion making supplies do you have at your hut?”

“Potion making…?” The question visibly took Zecora off guard. “Almost nothing… some herbs and flowers for healing wounds, but nothing else… ”

Taking a deep breath, Shy asked her next question carefully. “Have you ever worked with Dragon Star?”

Zecora’s visible eye grew wide. “Once… why? What could you ever want-”

“I need you to get some for me and make me a Thousands Potion,” Shy stated.

But Zecora was shaking her head before Shy even finished. “No… no, no…” The zebra started to back away from Shy, her body shaking.

Knowing she had to stomp down any resistance as soon as she could, Shy pursued. “It’s the only way to fight what’s in that swamp. I’m strong, but with that potion-”

“You’ll die!” Zecora screamed. “That potion kills three in four who drink it! It is a blasphemy upon everything we stand for-”

“Yet they still teach you how to make it!” Shy screamed back. “I’ve read all about your kind and your ways. I know you learn how to make Thousands in case it is needed one day. Now you will make it again!”

Knees shaking, Zecora shook her head again. Her words came out no louder than a whisper, “I won’t kill you… ”

Shy walked right up to Zecora, almost touching noses. “I was never alive to begin with. I’m nothing more than a figment of Fluttershy’s insane imagination.” Up came her hooves to push Zecora backwards. The zebra fell onto her rump, surprised.

“You will make me the potion,” Shy stated again. “Whether you want to or not.”

Tears started to stream down Zecora’s right cheek. She bit her lower lip and stared down at the floor. “I don’t want to… ”

“I DON’T CARE!” Shy’s hoof whipped across Zecora’s face, knocking the zebra to the floor. The pony grit her teeth and calmed herself but the damage was done. Zecora curled up into a ball and started sobbing.

I need her, dammit all! I can’t be so forceful!

“Zecora,” Shy reached down and touched the zebra’s front leg. Zecora recoiled. Shy’s anger rose and fell. “Zecora… I’m sorry…” Front legs wrapped around her head, back legs curled up, Zecora continued to cry. With a sigh, Shy sat. “I need that potion, it’s the only way I can stop this.” She reached out again and this time Zecora didn’t recoil. “After this is over, I won’t hurt you anymore… no one will ever again…” Shy leaned down and wrapped her front legs around the zebra in a hug.

Zecora turned and returned the embrace, a move that Shy wasn’t expecting. The pony was pulled to the floor beside the zebra. Though she wished it would end, Shy suffered through the hug.

Zecora’s nod felt more like a nuzzle. “I’ll make it… for you…”

Shy sighed. “The sooner you do, the sooner this will all be over,” she said aloud, but inside she thought, And when it’s over, I’ll bury you beside the beast.

“Abandoned? They abandoned the entire city?” Shy’s hoof slowly lifted off the map. Underneath, in large print, was Dodge City. “It was vital for trade, how could they just abandon it?”

Zecora was filling her saddlebags with supplies nearby, her cloak already donned. The two of them were inside Fluttershy’s cottage. Shy had insisted Zecora use Fluttershy’s food instead of her own, but she had really only wanted access to the old map and Zecora’s modern knowledge.

“Dodge City was the vital for trade between Ponyville and cities past the Badlands,” the zebra explained. “The meteor destroyed Ponyville and set fire to half of Dodge City. They had no choice but to migrate to Appleloosa.”

“Which is also abandoned,” said the shocked pony.

Zecora walked over and sat beside Shy. She drew a line with her hoof across the map. “When Appleloosa became too crowded, everyone went west to Los Pegasus.” The zebra became morose a moment. “Many ponies died during the journey…”

“You were there? In Appleloosa?” Shy pressed.

Slowly, Zecora nodded. “After I had seen what happened to Ponyville I fled south to Dodge City, and then to Appleloosa, and then on to Los Pegasus.” A distant look came over the zebra. Shy could imagine the memories weren’t something she remembered often.

“What happened in Los Pegasus?” asked Shy impatiently.

Zecora stared into space, staring into the past. Shy repeated herself but the zebra wouldn’t respond. Looking into her eye, Shy saw fear creeping in. Enough of this… “Zecora!”

The zebra jumped in fright and fell backwards away from Shy. She started gasping, holding her chest as if her heart was trying to burst from it. Gradually she realized where she was and relaxed. “I… I don’t want to talk about Los Pegasus… ”

Though she wanted to know what had caused Zecora to become the zebra she was today, Shy relented. “Where will you go to get the Dragon Star?” she asked instead.

As Zecora got to her hooves, she pointed to the map again. “Though it’s thought of as abandoned, there are still ponies living in Appleloosa. It serves as a new central hub for trade between Los Pegasus and Baltimare… or it used to until Baltimare stopped sending traders… ”

Shy waved her front legs in the air. “Whatever. How long will it take for you to travel there and back?”

Zecora scratched her head. Her hair slightly parted from her face. Shy couldn’t stop herself from staring at the zebra’s scar. “It will only take two days to get there. The problem is the Dragon Star… it’s expensive, and I may have to wait there some time before any comes through… ”

“I can alleviate one of your worries, at least,” said Shy. She turned and walked to the corner of the living room. There, she pulled the small carpet away, revealing a small hatch in the floor. With her teeth she opened it up and lifted out a sack. Once it was on the floor she kicked it over. Bits poured out of it.

Zecora’s stunned expression made her smile. “Take as much as you can carry.”

There weren’t enough bits in the world to stop Shy from trying to walk out of Ponyville with Zecora. Again, as before, Fluttershy knocked the pony out from the inside and turned her around. When she woke up, Zecora was still there patiently waiting in the rain. Shy just sighed. “Well? Get going! The faster you get it the faster this will all be over!”

Zecora was galloping before Shy finished, hooves splashing water behind her. Shy waited until the zebra was out of sight before turning back for Ponyville.

The past days had gone by in a blur to Shy, but now that blur had stopped. She would have days, perhaps weeks, to herself in Ponyville with nothing to do. The cold rain sent a shiver down her back. The pony hadn’t bothered with a coat. Maybe I’ll come down with flu and die…

Or maybe, Fluttershy’s voice said within her mind, you’ll go read a book.

Shy found herself walking towards the library. It came as no shock to her that Fluttershy could compel her to do as she wished. Shy was nothing but the other pony’s puppet.

For now…

After the past days there the library was starting to feel to Shy like her home. Once inside again, Fluttershy stopped her mental pushing and fell silent. She must think I like it here or something, thought Shy.

An evil thought came over her right than. Fluttershy had read every book, but that didn’t mean she enjoyed every one. Shy searched the shelves until she found the one she was after: a childrens book of fantasy tales. With a knowing hoof she flipped through it until she found the story she was after.

She read it aloud, feeling Fluttershy cring in her mind. “The Armor of Demons... ” The short story detailed how a village had been attacked by an escaped demon from the underworld. After the attack, only a young colt had survived. In the name of revenge he had forged himself a suit of armor from the remains of his village, and also from the bones of his fellow ponies. He slew the demon, but the demon’s blood cursed the armor, forcing the colt to wear it till he died.

While she had begun the story as a way to harm Fluttershy, Shy found herself enthralled. The story was purely fantasy, of course, but one detail stock in her mind.

“No bite, or claw, could pierce his armor...”

Chapter Break - Far

A few weeks before meteor…

The door to the schoolhouse flew open and released the tidal wave of excited fillies it had contained in body but not in mind. Friday always saw shuffling seats as little fillies and colts waited eagerly for the final bell to ring. Cheerilee had long since abandoned any hope of keeping her student’s minds on task for the final hour of class, changing her curriculum to reading quietly for the remainder.

Snails was usually out the door last with his best friend in the world, Snips, but today he lagged behind. Snips stopped to wait up for him in the doorway. “Come on, Snails!”

“Eh…” Snails needed a moment to collect his thoughts. “I need to, uh, talk to Ms. Cheerilee.”

“Low marks again, huh?” Snips patted his friend on the shoulder. “Well, come over to my house after, I just got a new board game!”

Snails smiled and nodded in excitement. Collecting and playing board games was one of Snips’ hobbies. The two colts always played them together on weekends when no event was being held in Ponyville to keep them occupied.

When Snips had left, Snails turned back to the classroom. Cheerilee was masterfully stacking papers with her front hooves and mouth. Snails walked up beside her and waited, watching her quietly. It took the teacher a moment to realize he was there. “Oh! Did you need something, Snails?” she asked happily.

Snails’ vocabulary had never been stellar so he rarely minced words. “Ms. Cheerilee, where’s Twist?”

“Oh, um… well she moved,” Cheerilee explained nervously. “I spoke to the class about it earlier, remember?”

“I remember.” His little head nodded. “But… why did she move?”

Sighing, Cheerilee patted the chair next to her. With a hop, Snails sat. The reddish pink pony sat on the floor next to him. They were eye to eye as she began. “She moved because her mother moved to Canterlot. She moved with her.”

“Will she come back?” came the automatic response from the colt.

“I don’t know,” Cheerilee answered honestly. “I’m sure you could always visit her in Canterlot, though. If,” she added quickly, “your parents say it’s OK.”

“You think so?” His eyes grew large with the possibility. “I’m gunna go ask and see!” With a hop to the floor Snails was off running. Cheerilee called out to him but he was already long gone.

Though his grades made him seem low class, Snails’ parents were second only to Filthy Rich in wealth. They had heavily invested in Filthy’s zap apple business in its infancy. The returns from that fateful day continued to sustain them. This had not stopped them from perusing other investments outside of Ponyville, often leaving town for days on end.

The right door of the large double doors to the larger house swung open as Snails entered his home. Sunlight streamed through windows that peered out onto gardens that the little colt had rushed by. They had never truly interested him.

“Mom? Dad?” Snails called out. A grayish pink earth pony in a maids outfit nearly fell over from Snails’ sudden appearance. “Sunset, are my mom and dad home?”

Sunset Bliss put the feather duster in her mouth down before answering. “Your father is upstairs in his study. But he just got back-”

Snails barreled past the maid and up the grand staircase, paying little head to the rest of her warning. The stairs split to the left and right. He took the right, heading in the direction of his father’s study without a second thought.

Though the door was closed and Snails would normally have known better than to barge in, those thoughts were thrown to the wind in his single-mindedness. His father’s study consisted of a large room with bookshelves stocking every wall except one. The one empty wall housed a hearth and was currently the only means of light in the room. The stallion liked to read by firelight.

Snails located his father instantly: sitting in his favorite chair with his back to the fire so as to catch the light. “Dad!”

His father’s eyes lifted from the book he held aloft with magic. Shadows cast by the fireplace lent weight to the already imposing figure he already was. Snails had gotten his black colored eyes from his father, who used his to stare at the little colt. That stare caused Snails to shrink.

“I… I was wondering if, maybe if you said it’s OK, I could visit my friend, Twist, in Canterlot...?”

“Canterlot?” his father spat the word out. “Why would anypony in Equestria move there?”

“Well, her mom moved there and-”

His father’s sudden, low laughter cut Snails off. “That explains it. She always was a snake, probably found some rich unicorn to sink her teeth into.”

Shuffling from hoof to hoof, Snails said again, “I was wondering if maybe I could go see them?”

Before Snails had even finished asking, his father was back to reading his book. “I’d rather you didn’t associate with them anymore. It’s good for everypony that they moved, honestly.”

The silence in the room stretched until Snails found the courage to move his legs again. He knew better than to ask something of his father twice. Of the many rules he would forget, that one would always shine clearly in his mind. His small hooves sought to close the door behind him slowly, quietly.

His father’s whispered words reached his ears. “Cursed slow child…”

The rest of Snails’ day was spent at Snips’. Snips let Snails be any character he wanted in any board game that day.

He had met his best friend’s father before.

Monday’s sunny morning might as well have been gray clouds for all the children returning to class cared. Everypony there knew what every other pony had been up to as Ponyville was not a large town. Their minds were already turning towards the next weekend, the next adventure.

Snails’ mind, though, was still on the empty desk beside his. During free period, Cheerilee sat beside Snails’ quietly and watched him drawing. “A train?” she asked him. “Where’s it going?”

“Nowhere,” he answered quietly. Tears started to spring up in his eyes and he wiped at them with a hoof.

Schooled in schooling well, Cheerilee took Snails by the foreleg and into her office in the back of the classroom without any pony seeing. When the door was softly closed behind them, she asked him, “Snails, you spoke with your father, didn’t you?"

Without the constraints of the classroom around him Snails cried openly. Still, all he could manage was a nod while looking down at his hooves.

Though she had often been berated for being affectionate to her students, Cheerilee had always felt compassion was the best teacher. She moved forward and hugged Snails to her with her front leg. He nuzzled into her hair, wetting it with his tears. “I thought so… listen Snails, how about I set up a field trip to Canterlot Castle? On the way, we can visit Twist…”

His crying turned to sniffling. “Really?”

“Of course…” Cheerilee smiled down at him and gave him another hug. “You can stay in here for as long as you like, OK?” Ruffling his hair slightly as she walked past, the pony opened the office door and returned to the classroom.

Cheerilee watched all her children rush out of the schoolhouse with a smile on her face. Snails ran alongside Snips as they rushed after the others.

When they were out of sight, the school teacher trotted to her desk and peered over the student’s free period artwork. The art allowed the students to express themselves while allowing her a window into their current thoughts. Often, as with Snails, she would see the problems they faced at home and try in her own way to ease their burdens. It was difficult, but fulfilling.

She gently sifted through the pile of art till she came across Snails’. He had finished his train complete with tracks, steam, and trees along the sides. “Off to Canterlot,” Cheerilee said aloud.

Five years, four months after meteor...

The kettle sat quiet atop the stove. Fluttershy peeked at it from over the book she had read a dozen times already. “Pinkie Pie,” she called to the pink pony in the living room. “Did you remember to put more heat on?”

“Oppsie! I forgot!” came the response.

With a sigh, Fluttershy placed the book down on the table beside her. “Oh, Pinkie Pie…” The pony stood and trotted to the stove. She nuzzled on an oven mitt and opened the hatch beneath the stove top. Only embers burned inside. Shaking her head so the mitt came off, Fluttershy leaned down and to the side of the stove. There, a pile of papers from around Ponyville rested.

She used her mouth to lift a few papers and shoved them into the stove. The embers licked and bit, lighting the edges of the newly given fuel. Fluttershy’s bent to pick up the oven mitt again but stopped. Her eyes locked on the top paper as it burned.

A train rushing along a track.

From a time when ponies left Ponyville, she thought. Well, no reason to dwell on the past. The hatch latched into place with a gentle push of her nose.

“Tea will be ready soon, Pinkie!”

Chapter 12 - Thousands: Part Two

Five years, seven months after meteor...

The barn door groaned loudly as the pony slid it open. Rusted wheels carved grooves in the mud, made worse by the constant rain. Shy found the exercise liberating; a moment of strength in an otherwise boring existence. Little light pierced the clouds overhead to illuminate the inside of the barn. It was, however, enough for the pony.

Fluttershy was already inside. Pink tail swished back and forth in agitation. Blue eyes stared intently at the pony entering the building, the one who controlled her body by her own wishes. “You don’t need it,” she told the other in a calm tone.

The snort emitted from the other revealed how much she believed the statement. “I’ve done my research. On my own, mind you, since you blocked out those memories.” Shy trotted into the barn without hesitation, rainwater dripping from her mane. Run down machinery, gutted for parts, lay about in heaps on all sides. She sat and lifted her front hooves to sift through the piles.

A yellow hoof gently pressed down on Shy’s forehoof, stopping her search. “This idea isn’t good… we don’t need armor… ” Fluttershy’s voice was soft, though she needn’t have spoken aloud at all for her voice to be heard. Though Shy’s eyes stayed downward she could feel the other pony’s pleading gaze.

The smile on her lips betrayed her true emotions. Shy swatted Fluttershy’s hoof away. “You’re scared. I’m not. That beast can rip us apart in moments. Armor will delay that inevitability by a few seconds at least.” The pony in the real body continued her search.

“And then what?” an increasingly hysterical Fluttershy pressed. The idea was having an obvious negative effect on the pony. “There are other ways of dealing with it. We could scare it off, or get the townsponies to-”

Shy could take no more of her. She snapped, “What’s the point of explaining it to you when you already know what I know?!” Hooves lifted a rusted piece of metal and hurled it at the nagging pony. It appeared to be on target, but missed at the last moment. “You’ve used anything of value in this dead town for your own selfish whims! All I have is your ridiculous strength!” To prove her point, Shy wrapped her front hooves around a large metal cylinder and lifted. Her muscles strained and ached but nevertheless complied. After a holding it aloft a moment, Shy bent her knees and tossed the piece across the barn. The resulting crash of machinery hurt her ears.

Wide eyed, Fluttershy became calm once again. “I already know you are strong enough to deal with the monster.” She fell back and sat on the ground. “You don’t need anything else.”

“Really? So this never happened then?” Shy turned her back to Fluttershy. Bandages still covered the spot where her wing used to be. “It didn’t rip our wing off like paper?” Fluttershy cringed and looked away. “LOOK AT IT!” Shy screamed. “It could have killed you!”

Tears rose within her big blue eyes as Fluttershy stared at Shy’s back. Her own wings rustled at the sight. “I’m sorry…”

Snorting, “Don’t be sorry for me, you idiot,” Shy turned back around. “Pretend all you want, but this body is yours, not mine.” Though that will change when I kill that monster, she thought. The pony went back to rummaging through the piles around her.

She’d made a mental list of all the materials she would require to make and enchant some armor pieces for herself. Though she did not have a unicorn’s magic, she did have a library’s worth of knowledge and an earth pony’s strength. She couldn’t imagine it would be difficult for her to create a few sets of armor to experiment enchantments on before she got it right. Fluttershy, however, seemed hell-bent on getting in her way.

After searching for a time, Shy threw her front hooves into the air in exasperation. “Just tell me where in the hells the anvil is already!” she yelled at the yellow pony watching her.

“If you find the anvil, you’ll want the metal.” Fluttershy brought her tail around and hugged it to herself. The motion gave Shy pause. It was a gesture the increasingly bold pony no longer performed.

It was then that it hit her. “There’s no metal here anymore, is there? You used it all?” Fluttershy nodded slowly. But if you knew that, why didn’t you just… Shy’s eyes went wide with understanding. “There’s more outside Ponyville somewhere, isn’t there?”

The other pony quietly spoke a single word as she buried her face in her tail. “Canterlot.”

“That’s… of course!” Shy nearly hopped with sudden excitement. The royal guard would already have armor! And even if that was all gone, they would have tools and materials! “I have to go to Canterlot!”

“No!” came the obvious response from Fluttershy. “What if there is something worse up there?”

“Then I’ll turn around and come back!” yelled back Shy. “I’m not you, Fluttershy. I’m not going to roll over and die.” She turned and started for the door. Hopping a pile of parts, Fluttershy trotted beside her. It made Shy uncomfortable having the other pony so close yet not really there at all.

“I’m sure we can find what you need here, in Ponyville.” The rain had no effect on Fluttershy whatsoever as the two ponies walked outside. Just another reason on Shy’s list why she hated her.

Meanwhile, it chilled Shy to the bone as she walked through what was left of Sweet Apple Acres. “If there were any materials left, here, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” She stepped down hard on a puddle in an attempt to splash Fluttershy. The water just went right through her.

“So you’re just going to walk to Canterlot? That could take weeks!” Fluttershy avoided a tree as she struggled to stay beside Shy, who was actively moving the other pony off the beaten path.

With an exaggerated sigh, Shy stopped and turned to Fluttershy. “Why don’t you save us both the trouble of arguing about this for the next few days and just tell me what I need to know?” Fluttershy bit her lower lip. Leaning in close, Shy said darkly, “I’m starting to think you never want to see your Pinkie Pie ever again…”

That brought fire back to the pony’s blue eyes. “Pinkie Pie is not my possession! She is her own pony and I love her!” Her pristine hair seemed to brush against Shy’s own as she too leaned in.

“I want my freedom, and you want… her back. I’m risking both our lives. The least you could do is help!” Shy ended by pushing forward into the other pony. Fluttershy, of course, simply seemed to shift out of the way. Never there to begin with, Shy knew.

Fluttershy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The fire was still in them when she opened them again. “There is a hoofcar I never disassembled at the train station. It can take you to Canterlot and back in just a few days. You should be able to hook up one of the small carts to it too.”

Shy gave an exaggerated bow. “Oh, thank you, princess of secrets! I know how hard it is for you to-”

Rainwater stung her eye as soon as she woke. Mud stuck to the side of her face from where she had fallen over. Shy didn’t bother trying to wipe it off with her already muddy hoof. She understood the threat Fluttershy would never say to her directly: Don’t try to run.

A quiet nagging had Shy running around Ponyville making sure the many different places Fluttershy had started re-growing crops indoors were still functioning. Every electrical device providing artificial sunlight to the crops was run off waterwheels that would sometimes break down. Shy was starting to realize Fluttershy’s nervousness about the trip stemmed from more than just the fact she would be away from her friends. If she spent too much time away from the town, it would more-than-likely become uninhabitable. Well, she thought, more uninhabitable.

While she was tending the still-growing crops, Shy gathered food from the caches Fluttershy had stored before winter. Nothing appeared very appealing to her; many of the stores had decayed beyond edibility. There was enough, she thought, for a few days of strenuous activity.

After all of that was done, the pony arrived at the train station with time to spare before the sun rose. She used a flashlight to find where the hoofcar was stored. It was such a simple contraption that Fluttershy had passed over it when scavenging for parts. Luckily it had been stored inside a warehouse beside the station, out of the rain. Still, some rust had accumulated here and there. Dropping her saddlebags, Shy spent some time cleaning the exposed metal.

Beside the hoofcar was an even older mine cart. There was little Shy could do for the rust on that one, so she checked the warehouse over for another. It took longer than she wanted, but eventually she found one that didn’t look like it would buckle under weight. She used a tarp she found in a janitors closet nearby to cover the top of the mine cart. No use letting it fill with rainwater the entire trip. Oil nearby ensured they would roll smoothly the entire way, as well.

The two carts secured together easily once she got them on the same track in front of the station. The tracks themselves were enchanted to last a lifetime, even through a disaster.

“If only ponies could be so enchanted,” commented Fluttershy from the platform beside the rails.

Shy hadn’t noticed her appear till just then. “Come to see me off?” The saddlebags of food were in the mine cart under the tarp. Shy herself wore a green raincoat in preparation for the days in the rain ahead. Her question had been in jest; she fully believed Fluttershy would come with her.

But the other pony didn’t budge. “I can’t leave my friends. You’ll have to go without me.”

There was a moment of shared silence between them. Shy broke it by asking, “Is there anything in Canterlot I should know about?”

“I haven’t been since before the meteor…” Fluttershy replied. “I have no idea what’s there.”

Or what isn’t.

Shy frowned at Fluttershy’s thoughts invading her own. “I’ll be back in a few days and we’ll both get what we want.” Without waiting for a response, Shy slipped her front hooves into the hoofcar’s handle-straps and began pumping. It started forward, picking up speed slowly.

Sunlight shot rays through cracks in the clouds overhead. Though she was leaving her own personal hell, Shy felt no happiness as she heard Fluttershy behind her.

“I’ll see you soon!”

It had never before crossed Shy’s mind to question where the meteor had initially exploded. It had been high up in the air, of course. That had been the plan to deal with it after all. Since all she had to go on was Fluttershy’s limited imagination, Shy had been content not to dwell on what she couldn’t possibly know.

Dead trees stood tall on both sides of her as she worked the hoofcar away from Ponyville. The track to Canterlot would take her through the mountain, up a winding trail, until finally returning to the outside. Equestria’s west half would be laid out before her.

It made Shy uneasy.

What if Zecora had lied? How far was the destruction? What if the meteor had laid waste to everything?

Though her limited knowledge allowed her some speculation, until she saw exactly how destructive the meteor had been Shy’s nervousness would remain.

As she tried to steer her mind from those thoughts, other more pressing concerns made themselves present. Canterlot had always been visible from Ponyville. There were many days when Fluttershy had stared at the far-off city. Though it was far too distant to make much out, it was clear that something had changed there. Buildings that had stood tall had disappeared, colorful blobs now gone. The city no longer appeared as Fluttershy had remembered it.

Shy imagined the city had burned as Ponyville had, only much worse, being closer to the explosion. Everypony would have died instantly unless spirited away deep into the mountain.

The sound beneath her changed for a few minutes as she crossed the river surrounding Ponyville. She was officially outside the town at that moment, yet little changed. Rain continued to pour, and dead trees that had halted for the river resumed on the opposite side.

One thing slowed Shy’s line of reasoning concerning Canterlot, however. Zecora had implied that many ponies had survived the blast and headed south. If that were true then Canterlot couldn’t have burned down, she deduced. Something must have protected it.

Still, even if Canterlot had been spared the meteor’s wrath, she knew that it had changed. Perhaps the ponies revolted after Princess Celestia’s death.

“Whose death?”

Shy nearly fell off the hoofcar in surprise. Skadi lay atop the mine cart behind the shocked pony. The alicorn’s wide smile and diamond eyes would have unnerved any other pony. Shy found them strangely comforting.

“Where in the darkness have you been?” the pony asked with more than a little bitterness. “Do you see what’s been happening out here? The stupid bitch got her wing ripped off!”

“You know, the mine cart should go in front of the hoofcar.” Though Shy couldn’t turn around to look at Skadi, she found she could still see the alicorn’s expression and motions. “That way if the cart is too heavy and is pulling you down a track you can disconnect it.”

“What wonderful information that I could have used yesterday!” Though somewhat happy to have her old conversation partner back, Shy quickly felt angry at the alicorn. “Answer my question!”

Skadi rolled onto her back, still atop the tarp on the mine cart. She seemed to have no weight and the rain went right through her. “Which question was it, again?” her legs wiggled as she asked sweetly.

Shy’s anger boiled over. “I swear I’ll stop this car and-”

“And do what?” Skadi’s sweet tone turned to stone. “Beat me like you beat that poor zebra?”

“Poor?!” Shy blurted out. Her lungs were straining to yell as she pumped so she switched to thinking her venom at the alicorn. When Zecora wasn’t lying to my face she was fawning over me!

Skadi just looked bored. “And you think hitting her repeatedly will do what?” Though Shy was clearly getting angrier by the second, Skadi did not relent. “If you showed her a bit more compassion-”

I have no compassion! Her pink mane fell over her face. The pony’s personal hygiene had declined since Shy had been put in charge. She hadn’t cared about her appearance but now her hair was starting to annoy her along with the alicorn’s badgering.

“That’s right; you left all your compassion back at the station.”

Back at… Shy blinked several times. She’s not here…

“Of course she isn’t.” Skadi reached out and ‘booped’ Shy on the nose with her hoof. “She said she was going to watch over Ponyville and that’s exactly what she is doing.”

The pony swatted at the alicorn’s hoof. I still feel… something… She isn’t completely gone.

Sighing, Skadi explained, “Of course she isn’t. She wouldn’t leave you to do whatever you wanted.” Leaning precariously over the side of the mine cart, she pointed around Shy in the direction they were traveling. “We’ll be at the mountain by sundown at this rate.”

We? While they were only thoughts, Shy still made them venomous. You’re going to stick around this time?

“Oh get over it, you filly!” Skadi laid back on the mine cart and stared up at the sky. “Fluttershy chained me and tucked me away before I could stop her. You think I wanted to just sit there and do nothing?”

“It wouldn’t have been the first time… ” Shy said aloud as she stopped working the handle. She turned and saw the mountain was as Skadi said: getting closer by the second. The hoofcar continued without her powering it, though it began losing speed.

When the pony turned back towards her, Skadi was leaning far forward from the mine cart with her nose nearly touching Shy’s. “Do you blame me for her and Pinkie Pie?” she asked neutrally. Her multi-faceted eyes stared into Shy’s with little emotion visible within them.

It took Shy a few deep breaths to bring her heart rate back down, all the while staring back at Skadi. When she could, she answered. “I don’t know what to blame you for. I’m still not sure what you are.” The linked together cars came to a smooth stop and Shy stepped down from the hoofcar. Though difficult to judge the time of day with the way the clouds blocked sunlight, Shy figured it was around noon. “Time to feed this lazy buck’s body.” The pony moved to the mine cart and waved Skadi off. “Shoo!”

Laughing, Skadi crawled off the cart to the ground. Shy was forced to reach into the mine cart awkwardly in order to get her food out without letting water in. Her head came out with a head of cabbage that had seen better days. “You should make a fire and boil that,” Skadi commented.

Not bothering to respond, Shy sat with her back against the mine cart and began devouring the vegetable. A few birds chirped as they flew overhead. Shy gazed at them, chewing slower as her hunger ebbed. To fly away… Pain enough to make her double over shot through her as she unconsciously flexed her wings. The wound from her taken-away appendage had yet to heal. “Not… my wing… ”

“It will be when she lets you go.” Skadi stretched her legs. “Is this really the best place to stop? What if another one of those things appears? Or something worse?” She appeared to scan the dead trees around them but Shy knew it was just a ruse.

“If it does then there isn’t much I could do about it, so why worry?” She put the last piece of cabbage in her mouth and swallowed it whole. “Besides, I need to pace myself or I’ll never make it to Canterlot.” Her eyes turned to the mountain again. The tracks entered and began a spiral ascent up the interior until finally exiting to the city. Without a doubt that will be the hardest part of the trip.

“I can do it for you, if you like?” Skadi asked with a sweet smile.

“Give you control? No thanks.” Shy stood back up and stretched. “Maybe you could just teach me magic and I can teleport there?” she asked sarcastically.

“Or,” Skadi teased, “I could teach you how to make another wing out of snow and you could fly there?” She splashed a puddle at Shy playfully.

The water hit Shy’s leg. Startled, the pony looked from her leg back to Skadi, but the alicorn was gone. How… She shook her head. Impossible, I must be hungrier than I thought. Forcibly turning her mind away from what just happened, Shy reached into the mine cart and produced more produce.

Far-off clouds broke as the sun set, allowing it to cast orange under the thick clouds over Shy. It disoriented her for a moment as she stared up through the rain to the lava-patterned sky. Did ponies find that beautiful once?

Thinking of the emotion she couldn’t feel was pointless, she found. Her attention returned to the mountain entrance before her. Not surprisingly, no lights burned within and the entire passage seemed like a great maw to the abyss. Darkness leading to more darkness.

And she had brought no light.

Shy had always considered herself a being of darkness made from the negative thoughts Fluttershy cast out so that she may remain “pure”. Even though she didn’t know if she was right, she still felt a pull to darkness in general. Bringing a light of any kind had never crossed her mind while packing. She would have to trek into the mountain the next day completely blind.

“At least there’s only one track…” With a little extra effort she brought the handcar to a rest within the tunnel entrance. A small amount of rainwater had managed to push up into the tunnel but couldn’t continue up the slope. Shy lay on her stomach within the tunnel and stared outside as the sun shone its last few rays.

She felt no fear, though she never had. Fear was something Fluttershy had in abundance, but not her. She was nothing but anger.

Sleep came easy to the tired pony.

When Shy opened her eyes again to the day, the sun was already rushing toward its peak. She cursed and stretched. Her limbs ached somewhat. I’ll be aching a lot more when this is over. Giving as little thought to her next move as possible, Shy boarded the hoofcar and plunged into the darkness.

It consumed her instantly. The tunnel entrance grew more and more distant until it became indistinguishable from the rest of the darkness. Or perhaps I’ve started turning. She felt the extra strain as the track sloped upwards. While difficult, it was not impossible to handle.

But time dragged on and still she drove upwards. The tunnel would sometimes open up to larger caverns that would echo loudly around her. A few bats screeched at her as she passed their perches. Shy recalled there being many more of them when Fluttershy had traveled this route in the past.

As she thought, the darkness did not bother her. However, hours passed and still she climbed. Shy had no way of knowing how long she had traveled or how much longer she had to go. It was maddening.

Skadi, she called out mentally. There was no response. You’re going to leave me again, Shy goaded. Still, though, Skadi remained silent.

Gritting her teeth, Shy fought the pain in her legs and the strain in her mind. She began to tell herself a simple lie: the end would come soon. The tracks would level out and exit the mountain and she would be in Canterlot. The trip down the mountain would be leagues easier than the trip up. And she was almost there.

A blinding light engulfed her and her eyes slammed shut. Shy screamed out in rage, cursing every living being on the planet for her terrible luck. “What now?!” she cried out, coughing as her lungs begged for air.

Nothing immediately assaulted her. The smell of pine drifted past her nose. A bird chirped in the distance. Slowly, Shy opened her eyes.

The south-western portion of Equestria greeted her in all its glory. The sight, mixed with her own relief, nearly killed her as she slumped sideways on the hoofcar. One look down had her wrapping her hooves back around the handle. The cliff to her right ran straight down for miles. She would have no reprieve until she reached Canterlot proper.

Still… the moment of truth is here…

When her breathing returned to normal, Shy looked up from the hoofcar and gazed at what remained of Equestria. The clouds had temporarily stopped their downpour and parted somewhat. Fluttershy’s memory of the scene before her came to mind and blocked what truly existed. With a shake of her head Shy cast away the past and saw the present.

Ponyville was below her but she overlooked it, already knowing the extent of the destruction there. The Unicorn Range to the north west seemed to dampen the meteor’s effect on the fields beyond it, but they appeared barren regardless. Dead trees extended out for as far as the eye could see; only returning to life near Smokey Mountain. Cloudsdale, of course, was missing from the scene. Appleloosa appeared to be somewhat rebuilt, but from that distance Shy could tell little. Los Pegasus was blocked by mountains covered in dead trees.

Shy examined the destruction closer, even turning to observe the mountain behind her. The mountainside was charred black in places, but was already chipping from the never-ending weather changes. Ponyville had not been blackened, only burnt… the meteor must have exploded right beside Canterlot, over Ponyville. So how did ponies from Canterlot survive?

She started pumping the hoofcar again. Canterlot was around a bend and through a tunnel, out of her sight. Though hunger was starting to slow her down, she was eager to see how a city closer to the initial blast had survived when one farther away had not.

The clouds began to close overhead to cast the world back into gloom. It’ll be dark soon; I’m running behind schedule… though she didn’t mind. Her body ached terribly. Shy hoped there’d be at least one bed not in a terrible state of disrepair.

Darkness overcame her and sound echoed again. The tunnel lasted only a few moments before she exited and began the final stretch towards Canterlot: the bridge. Made from the same magically-enhanced materials the rails were, the bridge had withstood the meteor’s blast completely.

A strange sound greeted her when she was halfway over the bridge. It sounded to her like the distant sound of rocks falling. A vision of the bridge’s miles of supports cracking under the sudden weight of her two carts bloomed in her mind.

Shy pumped the car as fast as she could. So focused was Shy on getting back to solid ground again that she did not notice the walls of Canterlot until she was within them. The wall could hardly be called such. It stood two ponies high and merely served as a railing of sorts against the cliff edging one side of the city.

All thoughts beyond survival faded away as Shy rolled into the Canterlot station. Her tired body fell from the hoofcar before it even came to a stop. Need to eat… need to get dry… Dragging herself up, Shy reached into the mine cart. She scooped up some food into her mouth along with a matchbox. Resisting the urge to swallow it all, she stumbled into the train station.

Toppled furnishings lay within. Overturned benches, upended plants, and broken glass around the ticket booths told of panicking ponies in a rush to escape. Shy wiggled out of her raincoat as fast as she could. It had done little to prevent her from becoming soaked, and her exertion getting up the mountain left her sweating. If she didn’t get dry soon she would likely freeze in the night.

After taking off her coat, Shy spat out the matchbox and started chewing the food she had. A quick glance told her the wooden benches would burn nicely. Her will to move was depleting fast so she hurried to drag an overturned bench to the center of the room. Next, she used the broken pottery that had once housed the plants to encircle the bench as best she could. Lastly she got the matchbox.

I hope the floor is fireproof…

Shy opened the box, took a match with her teeth, lit it, and tossed it onto the bench. The bench proved flammable and the floor protected. Exhausted, Shy crumpled to the floor outside the ring of pottery. Her last moments of consciousness were used to consume the remaining food in her mouth.

A screeching tore through the station. Shy kicked out and rolled into the burning ashes beside her. She screamed as they licked her skin. Half asleep, she bolted from the ashes into a bench and toppled tail over head.

The screeching slowly whined down till it stopped altogether. The pony slowly crawled away from the bench but couldn’t find the strength to rise. A red light high up on the wall slowly faded on and off. The sign beside it was labeled “fire alarm”.

Shy passed out once again.

The sound of birds chirping woke her. The station was lit around her from what the morning sun could squeeze through the cloud cover. It appeared in the same disarray as it had last night, with an added trail of ash leading from the center of the room to her. She recalled the fire alarm waking her in the middle of the night. It never went off before…

Shy shook her head and truly took a look around. Nothing within the station was burnt. In fact, beyond the chaotic mess around her, it appeared as if nothing had happened to warrant it. Her legs felt terrible but she fought through the pain and exited the station towards her hoofcar. The outer walls of the station were pristine. Not even a single crack ran through the glass.

The pony got more food while she considered this. She recalled that Ponyville had been founded and built by earth ponies while Canterlot by unicorns. It was not a stretch for her to consider the buildings in Canterlot magic-imbued, then, and so much sturdier against the elements. The meteor would have just washed over the city like so much rain… anypony inside would have been spared… Ponyville had been doomed by their natural ways. Even ponies inside had died when the windows shattered and the fire came for them.

But Canterlot had been saved by its hubris; its greed. The need for every unicorn to best one another had everypony no doubt scrambling at one point to magically fortify their homes. Shy could imagine such a contest happening long before the meteor showed up.

She turned from the station towards Canterlot and was proved right. Nearly every building she saw stood strong. A few were nothing more than rubble, however. Not everypony was privileged enough, it seems.

Blackness seeped into her vision. Shy shook her head and steadied herself. Her legs screamed at her to rest. “I can’t, not yet,” she said to no one. “Get the metal and tools and then we can leave.”

The constant pain in her legs slowly faded to a dull ache. Confused, Shy shook her head once more to make sure she wasn’t simply ill. A gentle touch in her mind reminded her that she wasn’t alone. Fluttershy had shouldered some of the pain. Shy just grunted her acknowledgment.

With another grunt she hopped onto the hoofcar. Her raincoat was had been muddied from her fall and practically useless anyway, so she left it inside. The tracks led deeper into Canterlot, all the way to the castle. There she hoped to find the supplies she needed to make her armor.

Another pain presented itself as Shy neared the castle. The stinging ashes had left small burns on her side where they touched. Contact with the rainwater began to hurt wherever the burns were.

“If it’s not one thing,” she huffed, “It’s a fucking other.”

Situated outside the castle gates, the castle station looked even better than the Canterlot station somehow. More money, more protection, Shy figured. She brought the hoofcar to a rest under the station’s awning. The pony slumped over the handle a moment to catch her breath.

“Do not move!”

Shy tensed up. The voice was the first male voice she had heard in years. It took her precious seconds to process that fact, and the owner of the voice took them. Light disappeared as a sack was thrown over her head. What felt like hands roughly removed her from the hoofcar and to her knees beside it.

Surprisingly, Shy felt calm. She felt something cold press against her neck. Death had come she decided. The death she had wanted had finally come. Though closing her eyes did nothing with the sack on her head, she felt it appropriate.

But death did not come. Hot breath washed over her cheek. “Are there others with you?” a gravelly voice asked.

The memories of long ago resurfaced within Shy. “Diamond dogs?” she said aloud.

Two male beings, one behind her holding the sack and the other in front of her, chuckled. “No, little pony. Though I’m sure you’ll wish we were.” The being in front of her moved away. Shy was hauled up by the sack. “She’s alone. Steel will interrogate her.” She felt a second hand grab the sack and pull. “Come, pony.”

The other hand holding her pulled the opposite direction. “Wait. What about the tower?” asked the second voice.

“What about it? This one is an earth pony. She can’t open it.”

“We’re right here, we should try it anyway. If we bring back something of value as well as the pony, Steel will be pleased.”

There were a few moments of silence as the first voice thought it over. “Alright.” Shy felt a hand leave the sack and the cold object at her neck move away. She was pulled in a direction and forced to walk.

Nothing the two had said made any sense to her. Instead of trying to interpret meaning, Shy focused on counting her steps. Fluttershy’s memory of the castle grounds was shaky as she had only been there on a few occasions before the meteor.

The station is to the south of the gate… we’re going into the castle, but there was no gate… ok, now we’re in the castle… now… back outside? Where are they taking me…? Back inside again-

Shy tripped as stairs were suddenly in front of her. One of the beings laughed and mocked her, “Watch your hooves!” They nearly dragged her up before she got her footing, the sack tightening around her neck painfully. She began to have second thoughts about dying just yet.

Not until I have a little payback…

The stairs wound up and up. Shy recalled that they had spoken of a tower. This must be it.

Her legs felt like jelly when they reached the top. Shy felt relief as the sack was taken off her head. The only light came from the window behind her. A massive door, one fit for an alicorn, was fixed into the wall. It depicted the cycles of the moon in a circle around its perimeter. In the center was an alicorn, but it was too dark within tower to make out any details. “Moons… Luna…”

One of the beings behind her grabbed a fistful of her mane and shook her head. Shy bit down the urge to cry out. “That’s right, little pony. This used to be Luna’s chambers before second sun day.” He yanked her head in the door’s direction. “Open it, now!”

Shy started to look behind her to get a look at her captures. The second one smacked her in the back of the head. “Eyes front or we’ll see if a dead pony can open it!”

Seething but powerless, Shy looked the door over. The handle had fallen off long ago. “There’s no handle. How am I supposed to open this?”

“Push it, foal,” replied one being.

“Why don’t you, dog?” she snapped back.

In a flash the cold metal was against her neck again. The being holding it leaned in close and breathed into her ear. “You’re getting on my nerves, pony. Open the door.”

But again, death didn’t scare her. Shy turned her head slowly and looked into the knife wielder’s face. It was as she thought: a diamond dog. But it wasn’t like the ones she had met with Rarity. There was no slack jaw, no dull look in his eyes, and his speech had almost none of the roughness of a diamond dog. Instead, he was almost handsome, his features more refined. He wore a dark red strip of cloth around his head, tied in the back, with a few black lines on it.

His eyes, however, held murder in them. He had killed before, of that Shy was certain.

What he saw in her eyes as she stared back must have told him she wasn’t afraid. He slowly moved the knife away. “Open it,” he said slowly, “and you can have a share of what’s inside.” The other dog started to protest and got a glare that quieted him. He turned back to Shy, “Now you get something, too.”

Shy snorted loudly. “How in the night am I supposed to open a door with no handle?” She lifted her front hooves and slammed them into the door.

And fell face first into the floor as the door opened easily. The not-diamond-dogs whooped and rushed past her into the room. Shy swore as she rose. “No, I’m fine, you bitches.” Her legs wobbled and she fell again. Great, she complained internally, I’m going to die without getting my revenge.

The inside of Luna’s chamber wasn’t as vast as Shy thought it would be. Two large windows on either side of the room let in the only light. A large purple and black pillow-bed made up the center of the room. Dressers and mirrors and other furniture a mare would want lined one wall. Star chart posters covered much of the wallpaper, some drawn on with red marker. Overhead, the celestial bodies turned, attached to a large mobile.

Though it looked more like a lair than a princess’s room, it left even Shy in awe. The dogs cared little for it, however, and were tearing through the furnishings in search of treasures. It was also the first time she got a good look at them as well. They wore some sort of thin, greenish-gray scale armor everywhere but their joints. Their heads were the only part of them uncovered. Knives were sheathed on their legs and some other, larger object was holstered at their hip. On their other hip were a few buttoned pouches.

Shy saw one pick up a large, pink object set in a necklace. The dog pulled out a small crystal and ran it over the jewel. Nothing happened. The dog grimaced and tossed the jewel over his shoulder towards where Shy lay.

The Element of Kindness landed a few hooves away from her nose.

A multitude of feelings welled up inside of Shy as Fluttershy realized what she saw. The other pony nearly took control and pounced on the element. At the last moment she retreated, choosing to keep up the current delusion over expanding it. Shy shook all over as her body came fully under her control again. Not… not my body… she reminded herself. As if I needed a reminder…

Still… Shy reached out with her front hooves. The element should have been cold like everything else there but the metal was oddly warm. She pushed it closer to her. Warmth seemed to expand from it and envelop her gently. Her muscles felt less tired and her mind sharper.

Shy clipped the jewelry on in one smooth motion. Regardless of which one of them was in control, the Element of Kindness responded. Its rejuvenating powers increased. Everything about her just seemed better, faster. For the first in a long time Shy felt well both inside and out. She felt Fluttershy calm down inside her mind as the element’s power washed over her as well.

Renewed strength allowed her to stand once again. The handsome dog noticed her movement. He pointed to the element. “You fancy that one? Take it. It’s worthless.” With his other hand he pulled what looked like a tube attached to a trigger out from a holster and aimed it at her. “But don’t think about going anywhere just yet.”

Memories surged. Shy flipped through every book Fluttershy had read. “A gun?”

The dog actually looked shocked. “I’m surprised you know what this is, little pony. Now, come over here where I can keep an eye on you.”

Shy stood her ground. Blue eyes began taking in every detail of the room around her.

“Come on, filly,” the dog said again. Annoyance crawled into his voice. “You want us to get rough again?”

“What do you need me for?” Not that I care… She was trying to buy time while looking for some sort of distraction.

“There are other doors locked with magic.” He pulled something back on the gun as he spoke. “And something under the throne seeping lots of magic. You’re going to get us it.” The second dog pulled his own gun but didn’t aim it.

Shy grit her teeth. “No.”

The dog aiming at her sighed. “That’s really a shame, little pony. But at least you got us in here.”

The ground started to shake, slow and steady. Everyone in the room froze. An increasingly louder sound came from outside. The dog not aiming at Shy went to the window. “I don’t see anything!”

From where she stood, Shy could somewhat see outside the same window. Suddenly, white blocked out the window. They all came to the same, instant conclusion.

Canterlot was situated far down from the peak of the mountain. And the mountaintop had gotten considerably more snow than it ever had before. Shy actually wondered why it hadn’t happened before now.

The mass of snow hit the city several hundred hooves from the castle grounds and kept rolling. Its journey caused the castle to quake harder and harder. Cracks spider-webbed along the floor and up the walls.

Glass flew into the face of the dog nearest the window as it shattered. He screamed out in confusion that distracted the other dog, giving Shy the moment she needed. She pushed herself backwards out the door in one hop. The dog instantly turned back to her and readjusted but with her second hop Shy was bursting down the stairs.

She could hear that outside the snow was getting closer and closer. If it hits the tower with me inside… Her legs pumped faster, sending her almost tumbling down the stairs. The sound of the dogs yelling behind her was long gone.

Before she knew it she was outside again. The snow was nearly to her. Shy took off inside in the direction she hoped she had come from. The dogs had taken her deep into the castle to get to the royal chamber. Once she was at the entrance hall she used her memories to take her back towards the gates. A loud crashing sound erupted behind her.

Outside again, Shy turned back the way she came. The tower was in the process of falling as the snow came to a stop. Rubble rained down into the powder, Luna’s belongings among them. Shy had no idea if the dogs had made it out in time.

But when the snow settled, not a soul could be seen.

“Steel really is the dumbest thing to make a door out of,” Shy groaned as she pushed open the royal blacksmith’s door. She had rushed to the armory first after her close encounter with the dogs but found it lacking in materials. It also seemed as if every piece of armor was missing save a few random pieces she tossed into the mine cart. It was her hope that the blacksmiths would have what she required.

The smith’s workshop had no windows or other light sources within. Shy cursed and opened the door as far as she could. There was just enough light for her to find what she wanted. “Metal, tools, formers, rivets… perfect… ”

She made several speedy trips to the mine car and back with her treasure. It’s a shame I can’t make the armor here, she lamented. Inside she knew Ponyville required her care, and she the food it supplied, too much for her to stay in Canterlot. And I don’t want to run into anymore cursed dogs.

Surprisingly, the Element of Kindness never once got in her way as she carried the materials. It felt like a piece of her, her body instinctively adjusting to it like an extra appendage. She wondered if Fluttershy had a hand in it but the other mare was quiet; small.

The ropes holding the tarp to the mine cart were coming loose as she stuffed the cart with more materials. Shy knelt down in the mud and tied it tighter. Cursing, she stood and looked to the side.

A shadow bolted around a house far down from the station.

Cursing louder, Shy double-checked the mine cart. “God damn dogs!” she yelled and kicked the metal switch on the hoofcar that controlled which direction it would move in. “You want me? Come get me!” She scrambled onto the hoofcar and pumped.

Something whizzed past her ear and rang off the mine cart as it hit it. “Try harder!” she taunted. Her taunt was answered with more bullets. They flew past her, colliding with the mine cart, signs, and other objects around her but never hitting her. The element kept feeding her strength even while she expended it moving the much heavier mine cart. It allowed her to travel through Canterlot in half the time it had taken previously.

The bridge was just ahead. Shy couldn’t stop laughing. The sound of the tracks changed, the ground under them turning from gravel to stone. Her laughter almost made her miss a voice yelling behind her, “Not at the bridge, you idiot!”

An explosion rocked her forward over the hoofcar’s handle. Both mine cart and hoofcar lifted up and slammed back down onto the tracks. The hoofcar’s handle rammed into Shy’s midsection, knocking the breath from her. She coughed and tried to refill her lungs with air.

There was more yelling behind her. I don’t have time for this! Lungs half ready, Shy tried to keep her momentum going by restarting her pumping. The tunnel between Canterlot and the mountain entrance loomed ahead.

Before she entered it, Shy glanced behind her. Some kind of weapon had blown up a section of the bridge. A small group of the diamond dog look-a-likes stood arguing on the opposite side. One stood at the very edge looking right at her.

The carts and pony rolled into the dark tunnel and were gone.

The tunnel ran just long enough to obscure the pony from his sight. Steel raised his paw to pick a piece of meat from his teeth. They need to cook the bat longer next time, he thought. The piece of meat became unstuck, his tongue navigating around his small fang to scoop it up so he could eat it.

The iron dog turned from the broken bridge to his iron dog subordinates. The four of them stood around the disarmed guard dog. His diamond launcher had been taken by one of the others. Steel beckoned him over with the paw he had used to pick his teeth. Eyes down, the guard dog complied.

Guard dogs were selected because of their size and strength, and this one was no exception. He stood almost a head taller than Steel and was given nothing but a helmet and spear. Iron dogs, however, were selected because of their sharp minds. The guard dog had been given heavy iron dog weaponry to carry while outside the mountain.

And he had used it without permission.

Steel reached out, grabbed the guard dog by the scruff of his neck, and leaned him over the edge of the destroyed bridge. The gap was too far for the guard dog to reach so his arms pin-wheeled useless in the air. Steel shook the other dog till he stilled, then leaned in close. “You destroyed our only means out of this city. I should kill you for that.”

Tears ran down the guard dog’s face. “Please, ‘ir, I did’t-”

“What you didn’t do was listen to my orders,” Steel said calmly. The guard dog continued to plead for his life, Steel’s grip the only thing stopping him from toppling to his death. Finally Steel pulled the other dog back. He fell onto his backside and quieted, breathing heavily.

Steel bent his knees and looked into the guard dog’s eyes. “You’re no longer a guard dog. From now on you are a build dog. Your new goal in life is to repair this bridge. Do you understand?” The dog started to nod but Steel grabbed his helmet. The iron dog tossed the symbol of the other dog’s previous office off the side of the bridge. “We’ll find you a helmet more fitting of your new status.”

Rain dripped down from Steel’s black headband in front of his eyes. He sighed as he rose. I hate this place. “Hold him down.” The two closest iron dogs pounced and held the now-build-dog’s body flat to the ground, face down. Steel reached into one of his pouches and pulled out two long crystals. A good portion of them were red but one end was enclosed in a metal. Steel took a crystal in each hand, gripping the metal portions. “Did you know that in pony society you get a mark on your hind that tells you what you’re going to do with your life?”

The build dog struggled. “Please! I build! I build all life!”

“Yes, you will.” Steel knelt and slashed at the ground with the crystals. The red sections burst into flames. “Because that is your new purpose in life.” He brought the crystals down parallel to one another and pressed them into one of the build dog’s hind cheek. The dog screamed. His gray fur and skin beneath singed to black. Steel moved the crystals away and drew four lines through one to the other. “Train tracks.”

All the build dog could do was shake in pain. He sobbed into the muddied track.

Steel slashed the crystals against the ground again and the fire went out. They were smaller than before. He stashed them back where he produced them from. He leaned down to the build dog’s ear. “Now you’ll always remember what you’re supposed to do.”

Shy watched the scene from the darkness of the tunnel entrance. The dog with the black headband was followed by the ones with the red headbands back into Canterlot. The one they had marked laid still on the ground.

What if another one of those things appears? Or something worse?

At least there’s only one track.

Slowly, Shy backed away from the entrance to the tunnel into the deeper darkness. She had found something worse than the monster.

And she would have to face it eventually.

The mine cart grew heavier ahead of her. The element is weakening; she knew but didn’t know why. Maybe it only lasts so long. Sunset forced the rain clouds orange. Shy took a last look at a fourth of Equestria while she could.

As the mountain entrance approached, Shy slowed her working of the hoofcar and allowed herself to coast in. Her plan to get down the mountain had been simple: do nothing. The mine cart would gain momentum and pull her along all the way home if she was lucky.

Things went so smoothly Shy almost fell asleep. There was still some sunlight in the sky by the time she barreled out of the mountain.

By nightfall she saw the outskirts of Ponyville. An hour later she was stumbling into the town’s train station, the Element of Kindness’s rejuvenating power completely gone. Fluttershy tried to talk to her but Shy found her world fading to black.

Good thing all the fire alarms here are broken…

Chapter 13 - Thousands: Part Three

Five years, seven months after meteor...

“…etal, check. Synthetic leather, check. Blueprints, check.”

Shy opened her eyes.

She lay where she had fallen: within the train station. The scent of the potted plants floated on the breeze past her nose. Stained glass was on display in every window. The intricately engraved doors to outside stood open before her. Her eyes were drawn from the doors to the scene outside.

Sunlight bathed everything outside. A yellow pony with a flowing pink mane stood beside a mine cart embroidered with diamonds. Everything about her radiated beauty, from her perfect mane to her brilliantly blue eyes, to her perfect smile. In one hoof she held a checklist, in the other she held open a tarp covering the mine cart. A pen in her mouth checked off item after item.

She noticed Shy wake. Smiling, Fluttershy called out to her. “Shy! Thank the sun you’re alright, I was so worried!” She held out the hoof with the clipboard on it. A purple glow appeared around it and lifted it up. “Twilight, check the rest while I get Shy some food, would you?”

“Of course, Fluttershy!” Twilight Sparkle said, trotting into view. The clipboard hovered a few hooves away from her glowing horn. “Although, you’re much better at this than I am.”

Laughing softly, Fluttershy made her way inside the station. “Don’t be silly! You’ve always been the smartest pony in Ponyville, Twilight!” The yellow pony was heading towards a fridge along one wall.

Twilight started to respond with her laughter. “Oh, Fluttershy, you-”

Shy closed her eyes.

Shy opened her eyes.

The only light afforded to her came from what little the sun could radiate through the haze. It was enough to reveal broken glass from the windows, doors barely attached to the walls, and empty pots where the memory of plants still lingered.

Outside was the mine cart, rusted and muddy. Rain bombarded it and sought its way past the tarp that covered the cart. The wind howled through the abandoned building and lifted the tarp slightly, allowing some rain to slip inside. The skeleton of Twilight Sparkle stood silent guard over it. Failing in her duties even in death, Shy thought.

Something made a splash as it hit the ground next to Twilight. Shy froze but the sound did not repeat. She stood slowly on legs weak from excessive use and too little sustenance.

“You need to eat!” cried Fluttershy from barely a hoof away. Shy flailed her hooves in surprise and fell over. She barely managed to keep her stub of a right wing from hitting the floor and erupting in pain.

Though Shy screamed obscenities at her, Fluttershy kept on badgering. “If you don’t eat something you’ll faint again!”

The words got through Shy’s anger and got her back up. The bandages around her body could finally take no more abuse and slipped off partway. As she walked towards the dirty fridge, Shy wiggled till they rested on the floor. She was no doctor, but she figured after so many days she no longer needed them.

Within the fridge were some supplies, put there specifically for this moment. Food, medicine, bandages. Shy shoved the medicine and bandages away and pulled out as much of the food as she could hold. Falling to the ground, she ate and ate until her stomach threatened to rebel.

With that off her mind, she rose again. Her legs wobbled but she managed. Fluttershy hovered annoyingly close by with anticipating eyes.

Shy ignored her. The achy pony started to trot to the mine cart, but stopped when she felt something against her chest. Weighing heavily, the Element of Kindness bumped into her when she walked, reminding her of its presence. It kindled no refreshing feelings, so Shy took it off with a scowl. Whatever magic it had must be used up. She dropped it to the wooden floor like so much garbage.

Fluttershy let out a little whimper. Shy continued to ignore her.

Strangely, Shy actually started to feel less tired once the Element was off of her. The achy feeling went away almost completely as she stepped out into the rain, water soaking her fur. She sighed. What in the night is going on with this body?

Fluttershy galloped out of the station to the mine cart. “Shy, Twilight Sparkle was helping me keep track of everything you brought! Show her the list, Twilight!” The perfectly dry yellow pony reached out to encourage Twilight with a touch.

Shy pushed the unicorn’s skeleton over and into the mud. Sticking out of the mud beside her was a clipboard with a blank piece of paper attached. A quill lay beside it. Shy whirled on Fluttershy. “How did you get her out here? Where did these things come from?”

Blinking innocently, Fluttershy cocked her head to the side. “Twilight brought them, silly. I asked her to come help wit-”

Shy took all her hate, all her anger, and all her pain, and focused it completely on Fluttershy. The yellow pony’s leg’s buckled. Shadows deepened and stirred around the two ponies. With all her might, Shy tried to destroy Fluttershy right then and there.

Fluttershy continued to stare into Shy’s eyes as her body sank to ground. Her expression was completely neutral. She said a single, quiet word.

“Stop.”

The shadows snapped back into place. Shy was pushed back, hooves digging grooves in the mud, as the rain pulsed away from Fluttershy. Clouds parted overhead in a circle outward from her to reveal the sun, blinding Shy. Shy cried out in pain, throwing up her front hooves to shield herself while falling to the ground.

It was over in an instant. Shy stayed curled up in the mud for a few more heartbeats before lowering her legs from her face. Fluttershy was still there, but her expression was one of worry. “Are you alright? What happened?” She started towards Shy.

The downed pony threw out a hoof while crawling away. “Stay away! I don’t want your help!” Fluttershy faltered a step. After a moment, though, she kept coming. Shy scooped up a hoof-full of mud and threw it at her. “Go away!”

Though the muddy missile passed through her harmlessly, Fluttershy looked as if it hit her right in the heart. “If that’s… what you want… I’ll leave you alone…”She turned slowly and trotted towards Ponyville. Shy lost sight of her as she turned round the corner of the station.

But Shy still felt her watching from inside. It made her want to tear out her eyes and dig into her skull, to rib out the disease at the source. “Not long now,” she reminded herself aloud to keep from self-mutilation. Once she defeated the monster, Fluttershy would grant her freedom.

Shy stood back up, mud covering her side and leg. The rain tried to wash it away. She wiped it off of herself angrily. Small strands of fur came away. Burnt, battered, shot at, starved…

The pony stood up on her hind legs and slapped her cheeks. I’m alright, she told herself. Balancing on two legs had come easy to her, most likely because Fluttershy had done it so often when tinkering with the town. Shy turned her thoughts from her well-being and decided to walk like that from then on. Anything to differentiate myself from her.

Wind made the tarp over the mine cart flap noisily. Metal peeked out from underneath.

Time to get to work.

Five days later…

Candlelight on either side of the drawing table, the only light within the smithy, eliminated all shadows. Blueprints taken from Canterlot rested upon the surface, some spilling over the side. A few of them carpeted the dirt floor below. Dingy white poster paper lay wherever the blueprints did along with broken quills and turned over inkwells.

The images portrayed in the blueprints on the floor showed the armor of the royal guard. A few even showed the long lost crystal kingdom guard armor. These had held little interest for her and had hoof prints where she had stepped on them.

The remaining blueprints, the ones that showed experimental or ancient armor, kept the drawing table warm. These designs were mostly half finished, however. Shy had gathered all the books she could on armor and locked herself within the smithy. It had seemed like hours since she had seen the sun, food supply slowly dwindling. Every waking moment was spent attempting to complete the incomplete.

When the sliding warehouse door behind her creaked open and light pierced in, Shy had a fleeting hope that bullets would follow, her soul floating up with the new light. But death did not come. “Shy?”

“You took your time,” Shy grumbled, shielding her eyes with a hoof. Everything seemed so much easier to her now that she constantly walked on two legs. No longer did she have to balance every time she had to lift a leg.

Zecora lowered her hood as he stepped into the smithy. “I thought I heard something from here. I couldn’t find you anywhere!” There was concern in her voice; real concern.

It made Shy sick. “Shell that up before I… ” The pony couldn’t complete her sentence. She fell back, catching herself against the table. How long have I been awake?

“You look terrible!” Zecora dropped her saddlebags and rushed towards her. Shy tried to swat at the zebra weakly. She dodged it, coming around and putting her neck under the pony’s front leg to stabilize her. “Come on, you need rest!”

The long week of constant motion finally caught up to Shy. She slumped against Zecora and allowed the zebra to half carry, half drag her.

Better have gotten those damn… oblivion took her.

Drowning.

She was drowning.

Shy spat up the liquid and thrashed.

“Easy! It’s ok!” Zecora yelled. She backed off, putting the soup bowl down on the nightstand. They were in Zecora’s room in her hut. Daylight was partially blocked by a hastily put up curtain over the broken window.

Once Shy realized where she was, she grew furious. “Are you trying to kill me?!” she screamed at the zebra. Her front leg reached out and tried to hurl the bowl at Zecora.

The zebra was faster, however. She grabbed the bowl in her front legs and backed off more. “You needed to eat, Shy. You’ve been asleep for a day. If I hadn’t-”

“Shut up!” Shy put a hoof to her temple. A headache was blossoming inside her brain. “Your voice is grating.” The room was silent for half a minute while Shy thought. Her stomach started to growl. “Give me the soup.”

Slowly, Zecora returned bedside. Shy shakily sat up and Zecora gently placed the bowl on her lap. It smelled awful. The pony tried to lift it with her front legs. It sloshed around and nearly fell off the bed before she caught it. She found it difficult to lift the bowl from her lap to her mouth. “Darkness… ” she swore.

Zecora reached forward to lift the bowl for her and got a slap in the face as reward. “I can do it myself!” Shy growled out at the zebra.

“You obviously can’t!” Zecora snapped back. She grabbed the bowl from the shocked pony. “Drink!” the zebra demanded.

Scowling, Shy succumbed to her fate. The soup wasn’t as terrible as it had smelled and it even brought a little strength back to her. In fact, Shy was certain the awful smell wasn’t coming from the soup at all. More pressing concerns held her attention, however. When she waved to take a breath, she voiced them. “You’ve gotten bold, haven’t you?” The pony reached out and pressed the zebra’s cheek she had slapped.

If she felt any pain, Zecora didn’t show it. “You need help, whether you want it or not.” She lifted the bowl to the pony’s lips again.

Shy considered the zebra while drinking. As the bowl was brought down again, she asked, “What is that smell?”

“What smell? Are you sure it’s not something in your nose?” Zecora leaned on the bed to peer into Shy’s nostrils. It was then that Shy found the source of the smell.

“What in the dark’s name did you eat?!” Shy pushed Zecora away and coughed. “I’ve never smelt anything… ” Fluttershy has only smelt this once… “… are you on drugs?!”

“I took some medicine that-”

“Are there drugs in the soup?!” Shy struggled to move away, falling off the bed in the process. The blankets and pillow fell with her.

“Relax, Shy!” Zecora put the soup down on the nightstand. “The medicine is for my pain, nothing uncouth! I used what vegetables you had to make the broth!”

“I know what you took, Zecora.” The same thing those young colts were taking back in flight camp… “Pellucid isn’t for pain,” the pony continued, “It’s a drug, and a highly addictive one! You bought that instead of the Dragon Star?!” Something suddenly caught Shy’s attention from under the bed.

“No!” Zecora yelled back. “I bought both! There was plenty of… what are you looking at?” Shy was leaning down to get a clearer look under the bed. “There’s… there’s nothing there… stop!”

The pony dived under the bed at the same time the zebra tried to jump over it. Calling on all her remaining strength, Shy lifted the bed with her back and flipped it away, zebra and all. She ignored the crash as she saw what Zecora was trying to hide.

An “alchemist’s inhaler” was resting on a towel. It was nothing more than two glass pieces, one a tube and the other a round end, that screw together. Smaller tubes poked out from four sides of the round end where drugs drip-fed. Beside the inhaler was a fixture that could hold it up and close to that was a recently put out magic candle.

“You spent my bits on this?!” Sitting, Shy grabbed the inhaler in her front legs. A small amount of pellucid was still in one of the small tubes. The smell made her gag. “This stuff is disgusting!”

Zecora crawled out from under the overturned bed with pleading eyes. “Please, I need it! Don’t take it away!” A trickle of blood ran from a cut on her forehead down her face. Like the rest of her injuries, the zebra obviously couldn’t feel it.

“Why should I let you have this? It makes you even more useless than you were before!” The pony lifted the inhaler over her head to smash it.

The motion triggered Zecora. She broke down, throwing herself on the floor and sobbing. “PLEASE! I’LL DO ANYTHING!” the zebra screamed. Shy was too stunned to say anything right away. Zecora crawled forward to her lap, nuzzling her stomach. “I know things; I know how to make you feel good… I’ll make you feel good… ”

“Get… get the fuck off of me!” Shy fell back and kicked out. Zecora cried out, trying to hold on. “You can have your inhaler and your drugs and kill yourself for all I care!” Tucking the inhaler under one leg, Shy used the other to pry Zecora off of her. “But don’t ever touch me or defy me again, got it?!”

Zecora nodded again and again. Shy felt like breaking the inhaler just to spite her but gave it to the zebra instead. I need her pliable, and this works just as well as anything.

The zebra hugged the inhaler to herself, rocking back and forth on the floor. She wasn’t like this before, a whispering Skadi commented. Your actions must have driven her to this.

“Her own weakness drove her to this.” Shy walked around Zecora to the living room. A large vat of soup was suspended over a slowly dying fire. “Even under the influence she can still function.” She grabbed a bowl and dipped it in the vat. A corner of the living room provided a suitable place for her to sit and drink.

Fluttershy softly spoke. This doesn’t feel right, Shy. She’s hurting herself…

“Which would you rather happen,” the pony asked between drinks, “She hurt herself or I hurt her?”

The voices inside her head were silent.

When her bowl was empty, Shy leaned against the wall behind her and slipped back into sleep.

A soft glow from within three glass jars lit the living room. The glow was located beside the front door, leaving half the room in darkness. Shy rubbed her eyes. “Time flies… ” as Twilight Sparkle used to say, she recalled.

“…when you’re having fun… hee hee hee… ” Zecora tittered from the doorway to her bedroom. Shy could barely make her out in the gloom, lying on her back.

Pellucid, Twilight instructed, is a drug that affects the brain. Groaning, Shy stood up to get more soup. Twilight continued, the effects are rather strange. Some accounts record no change in personality, while others show radical mood swings. Cold soup filled the bowl to the brim. There are a few constants, however. The more fragile one’s mind is, the more susceptible they are to mood swings. As well, pellucid is highly addictive after long term use. If one took the drug over a few years, they would do anything to get more.

Shy grunted as she fell on her rump again. There was a trail of soup from the bowl to where she sat. I’ll have her clean it later, she thought.

That all sounds really bad! Fluttershy said to Twilight. Why would anypony do that to their self?

A unicorn’s shadow against the wall pointed. Doctors used to prescribe pellucid as pain medication, Fluttershy. They didn’t know back then about the long term effects.

An empty bowl was again in her hooves, soup running down her chin. “Zecora, how long have you been taking pellucid?” The outline of the zebra rolled back and forth on her back, laughing at nothing. She cried out when the empty bowl shattered against the wall beside her. “How long have you been taking that fucking drug?”

Zecora curled up into a ball. “One, two, three… in Los Pegasus, everypony did it… ” Her body shook. “In… ” Soft sobbing came from where she lay.

These days, Fluttershy, everypony knows not to take pellucid. The unicorn shadow melted back with the others. No pony would do that to themselves…

The darkness of her closed eyes did not shut out Zecora’s sobbing. “You’re always thinking, aren’t you?” Shy’s voice was a whisper. “You didn’t read the library again and again for fun. You know far more then you’re letting on, don’t you?”

No shadow appeared to answer her.

“… Fuck you… ” The yellow pony stood up on her two back legs. “Get up, Zecora.” Though she stopped crying, Zecora stayed on the floor. “Remember what I said I’d do if you didn’t obey?” That caused the zebra to stand in an instant. “Good… Come.”

She led the zebra into the cold rain.

“It’s dark… ”

“Wonderful observation, Zecora. Be a good girl and light a few candles.” Every window in the smithy remained covered, though little light would have been found naturally that night. Zecora hurried to light the candle beside the door so as to find the others. Shy ignored her, all her attention on the drawing table.

Centerfold, on the cleanest paper she could find, was her masterpiece. Few ponies had ever walked on two legs into battle. Why bother when you can just stick a lance on your side and charge? After examining all the diagrams before her, though, Shy began to see how two legs were better than four. Armor could cover more of her body, weapons fixed to her front hooves could be directed easier, and no pony would know how to defend against a long dead method of battle.

Light blossomed beside her. “Done,” Zecora said happily. The match in her mouth fell to smolder on the floor beside her hooves. Shy stamped it out before it caught the zebra aflame. Better have her do simpler tasks.

“I am going to spend the next few days making this.” The pony tapped on the drawing. “I need you to bring me food every morning and evening. Along with that, you are to prepare the Thousands potion. Do you understand?”

A faraway look had taken over Zecora’s expression. Shy tried to bring her back to reality with a slap but the zebra felt nothing.

“By Celestia, how in hell’s-”

“Celestia?!” Zecora snapped back to herself. Her eyes locked onto Shy’s and her words came out in a monotone. “Celestia is dead. All hope is lost. Equestria belongs to them now.”

Something within Shy churned.

“I don’t have time for your nonsense right now!” she screamed. The muscles on the zebra tensed up. “Bring me food in the day and night, and make my Thousands potion! Do you understand?”

Water flew from her mane as the zebra nodded her head.

“Do not forget… now go!” She flicked Zecora in the face with her tail as she turned back to the drawing table. Rubbing her nose, Zecora fled from the smithy.

Earth ponies had long ago created tools that, while feeble compared to unicorn’s magic, allowed them to keep up in innovation. Some even said earth ponies were forced to excel in creating new inventions because of this handicap.

As a pegasus, Fluttershy had never before had to worry much about creating anything. When the town “needed” her, however, she had learned and adapted. Any earth pony would have been impressed with her “accomplishments”. Before they vomited all over themselves…

Regardless of the circumstances, Shy was begrudgingly grateful that Fluttershy had such vast knowledge of inventions. The pony in control of the shy pony’s body spent the next days heating, hammering, and fitting with relative ease. Her mind was packed with more knowledge than anypony should have known, and she put it to single-minded task.

While Shy’s focus was on her work, Fluttershy’s was on her friends. Her thoughts cut through any noise Shy made and forced their way onto her. “Oh, Twilight, I know you miss Pinkie Pie too, but she’ll be back soon!” Shy would hear behind her. It always came from behind her, but when she turned she saw nothing but shadows dancing from the candlelight.

Who’s the shadow pony now?

“Skadi?!” Shy screamed. The alicorn would quietly make a snide comment or remark and then disappear. Shy drove her hoof-hammer into the drawing table, smashing through it. “No control… I have no control over any of this… ”

This was usually when Zecora would open the smithy door a crack and peek in. Paranoid, at times twitchy, Shy wondered how the zebra spent her days and nights when she wasn’t bringing her food. Then she realized she didn’t care. “Get in here already!”

Zecora’s saddlebags were always full. With what was always a mystery. Sometimes she came with raw vegetables, sometimes with soup, once with dirt. Only once with dirt, Shy recalled. She had been quick to display her displeasure.

Eating calmed Shy’s nerves and helped her focus. A little voice she assumed was Fluttershy tried to say Zecora’s company also helped, but Shy ignored it. When she was finished eating she would chase the zebra out again and resume her work.

Shy didn’t count the days because they didn’t matter. The only limits were her supplies, and she had gotten more than enough. Everything else she ignored as best she could.

In the shadows of the windowless building she turned back time to an age when ponies fought, and died, and lived. To a time when she would have felt at home among the charging armies.

Zecora’s visible eye grew wide with fear. “Stay back!” she yelled out, tripping over her own hooves as she tried to backpedal away. Mud splashed, covering her already dirty coat.

Shy laughed mockingly. Her stomach rubbed against the synthetic leather lining the inside of the armor. “Get up, you nitwit.” The zebra’s eye seemed to grow wider when she realized who was standing before her.

The armor covered much more of Shy compared to standard pony armor, which was made for standard ponies. Shy, now practiced in two legged walking, was not a standard pony. The chamfron helmet was similar to crystal empire design but with a full crinet instead of an open necked one. The peytral, or chest armor, was from an old design she had dug up. She included an opening in the center just under her neck to allow her body to breath somewhat.

The front leg armor had been the hardest part to design, but she had found that tubed metal fastened to her chest armor provided the protection she wanted. The joints were open just enough to allow full range of motion.

Finally, the crupper, which would sit on a pony’s back and rump normally, was turned into a full skirt that attached to her chest armor as well. Down her back legs ran linked chains that granted minimal protection but afforded full mobility.

Still, Shy’s pink mane overflowed out of the helmet and down her chest. The opening in the top of crystal empire helms, she had decided, was unnecessary. I’ll just have to cut my mane down.

Zecora got to her hooves. Her red eyes told the tale of her drug intake that day. “This is what you’ve been making?” She reached out and poked Shy’s chest armor with a hoof. “You think that’s going to stop them?”

“Them?” Shy swatted the zebra’s hoof away. “Focus, Zecora. Did you make the Thousands potion yet?”

Eyes shut tight, Zecora thought hard. “I… yes… I think?”

“Tell you what, Zecora,” the pony picked up the zebra like she weighed nothing, “let’s go to your hut and find out.” Shy tossed Zecora over her shoulder and started towards Everfree. It was well past sunset and nearly pitch black but Shy knew the way by heart. Rain hitting her metal coating was a new sound. I’ll have to learn to ignore it.

The zebra’s mental state made her more confused than worried. She swung her back legs back and forth. “My hut is nice,” she said quietly. “I made it. It’s mine.”

“Wonderful.”

“It’s got herbs and spice and everything nice,” Zecora went on. “Little Applebloom would come to play. ‘Do come in’, I would say.”

“Applebloom is dead.” Shy adjusted the zebra on her shoulder. “Everypony is dead here.”

“… you aren’t…”

“I might as well be. Now be quiet before I make you walk.” Her hooves sank a little deeper into the muddy path entering the forest from all the extra weight. “Have you been eating?”

“I can’t eat till master says so… Ribbon was bad so she doesn’t get food… ” Zecora started smacking her lips. “We have to make master happy… ”

Shy shook her head and sighed. “’Master’ this and ‘them’ that. For somepony who doesn’t want to talk about what happened to you, you sure do talk about it a lot.” She bent her knees, lifted Zecora off of her, and placed her down. “We’re here. Get the potion.”

It seemed to take Zecora a moment to realize she was standing again. “Potion… the Thousands potion? It’s inside.”

Sighing again, Shy walked past the zebra into the hut. It was a mess inside, revealed by the bottled fireflies. Dirty alchemy pestles and pots were everywhere. The door pushed something glass against the wall, shattering it. “What in the night happened in here?”

Zecora peeked into the hut from outside. “I started to make it but forgot how… then I remembered… then I forgot again…”

“You… stupid… ” Shy ground her teeth together. “You finished it, right?”

“Yeah… it’s in my room… ” The zebra tripped and fell down the short flight into the hut. She lay in a heap but didn’t express any pain, eyes staring at Shy. “It’s my… masterpiece… ”

A familiar feeling hit Shy: a churning within. Something didn’t like Zecora’s state, be it Fluttershy or Skadi. But neither put voice to their misgivings.

Shy wouldn’t have listened to either of them, regardless. She stepped over the broken glass and spilled potions to get to Zecora’s bedroom. The door was open and light from the living room leaked in. The pony saw that Zecora had never righted her bed. Bags of bluish-green herbs were stacked in a pile to one side. Pellucid.

Next to the bags was more alchemic equipment, but something more interesting caught the pony’s eye. A small vial of dark liquid was sitting under an empty dripper. She gently removed it with her hooves and brought it into the light of the next room.

It was so dark that light would not pierce it. “Is this it?” Shy asked of the still grounded Zecora. The zebra was busy crawling on the ground like some small animal. “Zecora!”

That brought her out of it temporarily. She nodded, “That’s a Thousands potion, dark as a dragon’s heart.” Her hooves waved in the air as she rolled onto her back. “Taken by only the strongest, for the battle you’ll take part.”

Shy starred at the vial. “What does it do, exactly?” Potion books told of the Thousands potion’s ability to bring out the will to kill inside oneself, but that was all. Nowhere did it explain how this was done. “How long does it take to work? … Zecora?”

Zecora was asleep.

“Fucking... great… ” All I know about this thing is that it will give me resolve to kill. It could also kill me. Shy sniffed the liquid. It smelt like burning wood. But I’m not really real, now am I? I can’t really die. And if I did, would that be so bad?

Her lips closed around the end of the vial and she threw her head back. Its contents poured into her mouth. There was a stronger taste of burnt something but Shy swallowed before her mind could process it. Still, she spat out the vial and coughed repeatedly when it caught up to her.

Immediately her body started to feel hotter. It wasn’t unpleasant at first, but it got worse. She stripped off her armor to try and keep cool but it wouldn’t stop. Feeling like she was in direct sunlight in the middle of summer, Shy rushed out into the rain.

Stream rose where the rain hit her skin. She dropped to her back leg’s knees and held her head, her brain on fire. Pain wasn’t something new to her. Pain was welcome in her world. But this went beyond pain.

I’m going to die.

Shy threw her head back and screamed towards the heavens. The clouds pulled away overhead, taking the rain with them. Branches and trees cracked and pushed with the rain. Stars brighter than any she had ever seen filled her vision completely.

Every constellation had come out to play. Fluttershy had always loved the many animals made from the stars. The bear, the wolf, the snake.

Lines slowly connected the dots of them. In the endless ocean of space, the animals shivered. It was too cold for them there. They needed a place for warmth.

The snake crawled down into Equestria. There was warmth here under the leaves, in the bushes. Even in the darkness of night the snake could keep warm. But there was other warmth it wanted.

There; prey.

A mouse had descended. Black scales coiled slowly, silently. The mouse was not yet familiar with its surroundings. It was confused, afraid.

Darkness pounced upon it. First, its fangs pierced the soft flesh beneath fur. The shock alone would have been enough to kill the mouse, but nature is nothing if not thorough. Around the limp body went the snake’s own till bones cracked.

Cyan eyes regarded the kill before the snake opened its maw to feed.

A shadow dashing along the snake’s peripheral vision was its only warning as a badger leapt from cover. The snake tried to do anything in response to the attack but was killed almost instantly.

Blood dripping from her teeth and claws, the badger dragged the snake’s body into the bushes and began to feast. It would not make the same mistake the snake made. She used her cyan eyes to check her surroundings constantly.

Around her she could hear the other animals fighting and dying one after another. This world was only large enough for one. The final survivor would rule supreme.

But it would not be the badger. As had been done to the snake before her, the badger was pounced upon by a larger creature. A panther, black as the night, left the dying badger where she had fallen. There was no time to eat, not now.

She would have plenty of time to eat when-

A manticore burst from the trees with a lion latched to its back. The lion clawed like mad, trying to keep its hold. With little option left, the manticore fell onto its side to roll onto the lion.

Seeing the couple locked in combat, the panther tried to retreat. Without warning a bear entered the area looking for fresh prey. There was no escaping a fight.

After a struggle between all four beasts, the manticore started to limp away, the only survivor. She knew she had to return to the stars or death would come for her. If she could just-

A strange creature appeared before her. It took the manticore a moment to recognize the pony, but it was a moment too long taken. The spear attached to the pony’s side plunged into the manticore’s stomach as the pony rushed forward.

Spear snapping as the manticore fell, the pony cursed her luck. She had made that spear quickly while the other animals were distracted and there was no time to make another. Thinking quickly, she crawled under the larger beast to where the spear had broken. Her face pushed into the wound and bit the sharp end of the spear. Blood dripped from her face when she retracted it, but now she had a weapon.

A roar shook the earth. The beast claiming to be greater than all come before and after had arrived.

Every animal left knew it was pointless to fight one another while such a being roamed unmolested. The pony turned her cyan eyes towards the origin of the roar and set off.

It didn’t take her long to see the dragon. She was almost crushed by a falling tree when it swung its tail across the forest. Black scales covered it from head to toe, blocking out the millions of stars overhead with its presence. Dozens of animals ran wild around the dragon’s legs.

Two stomping steps silenced them.

The pony knew she was outmatched. She knew she would die if she tried to defeat the towering dragon. But there was nothing else for her, nowhere to retreat. All she could do was go forward into oblivion with the knowledge that she had fought to the end.

Her scream was muffled by the spear end in her mouth. Perhaps hearing her, or perhaps just turning her way regardless, the dragon faced her. It breathed in, gut extending.

The dragon breath wiped out the remaining creatures. Her unblinking cyan eyes searched for more prey but found none. She had reigned supreme. Shy breathed out a line of fire into the sky.

This is the power every pony has inside waiting to be set free... a darkness so black it became unseeable…

Heat crept up her back suddenly. Shy spun around and saw the sunrise peaking over far off mountains. There should be no sun her-

A shaft of light ripped through her left shoulder, leaving a hole the size of a pony. She screamed in pain and confusion. Another shaft lanced through her side. Shy could do nothing as more and more beams of light tore her apart.

The outline of an alicorn cast a shadow over the sun.

Air filled the pony’s lungs as she gasped. Eyes flew open. Daylight lit clouds overhead. Rain chilled her. Her throat was a desert. She turned from her back onto her side and drank from a puddle.

Shy coughed and dry heaved. Where am I? What day is it?

She used some of the water to wipe her eyes, trying to use as little mud as possible. When she could see clearer she looked around. Zecora’s hut was only a few meters away. Shy recalled taking the Thousands potion and…

It was all a strange blood drenched blur to her. The fact that she was alive seemed like a good sign, but she had expected to feel some sort of change within her. Instead she felt exactly the same. It infuriated her.

If she could have screamed, she would have called out for Zecora. Shy stumbled to the open hut entrance and collapsed onto her stomach in the doorway. She coughed and managed weakly, “Zecora…”

“Hmm..?” The zebra was sitting on the steps going down into the hut from the entryway. Her alchemist’s inhaler was in her front legs. Shy saw fresh pellucid in the device. It only served to increase her rage.

“You idiot… ” The pony swallowed to keep her throat wet. “You didn’t make the potion right!” She crawled forward till she was head to head with Zecora.

If she was worried, Zecora didn’t show it. Her half open visible eye looked confused. “I made it perfect, just for you.” She held out the inhaler to Shy. “Here, some of this will-”

“I DON’T WANT YOUR FUCKING DRUGS!” Shy’s voice cracked along with her temper. Her hooves lashed out, shoving the inhaler from Zecora’s hold. It fell away from them to smash into a million shards.

Both pony and zebra were wide eyed, silent. Zecora began making a sound like an animal caught in a hunter’s trap. She fell onto the floor, glass pieces cutting her legs, and started pushing the shards together in a pile in a vain attempt at fixing it.

Shy knew she had finally allowed her anger to do something unfixable. She couldn’t find the capacity to care, though. The potion had failed, but something from the dream stuck with her.

Rising to her hooves, Shy walked past Zecora to her armor. She donned it quickly and skillfully. Walking past the zebra again, Shy said, “Maybe now you won’t be so useless.”

The rain hit her metal shell, but Shy found it easy to ignore.

It took far less time than Shy had first thought to bring her idea to life: blades extended from her front hooves. The vision of a pony holding a bloody spear end made her realize most weapons easily handled by other creatures would not suit her. Weapons that she could never drop and wouldn’t break off easily, those were perfection for her.

After a few hours of tinkering, Shy felt she had the design down, but hunger gnawed at her. Zecora was late with the food. “Probably still crying over her stupid inhaler,” Shy said out loud. “I’d better go get my own food, then.” She pushed her chair away from the drawing table testily.

The walk to Zecora’s hut seemed faster to Shy without her armor on. I should start wearing it more to get used to the weight, she decided. Her mind turned to Froggy Bottom Bog. She couldn’t imagine how it would be having to fight the monster in that environment. I need to do more preparations…

“Zecora?” Shy poked her head into the hut. Though the light of day did not penetrate the clouds, it came through the windows enough to allow the pony to see. Glass shards still littered the floor but the zebra was not in the living room. The pony took care to step over them. The door to Zecora’s room was open a just a crack. Must be sleeping. Shy walked to where they stored the food from the many sources around Ponyville. The container was beside Zecora’s room, and Shy was compelled to peek in.

A striped leg was the only part visible of the zebra, who appeared to be lying on the ground. Something seemed off to Shy. She turned from the food container and pushed open the door.

Zecora was perfectly still, raw pellucid carpeting the floor around her face.

“Shit!” Shy ran into the room to the fallen zebra. Her hooves checked for the pulse she knew wasn’t there.

Zecora’s shadow stretched and warped. Ms. Cheerilee’s voice spoke from it. “Drug addiction used to be a very large problem in Equestria due to the strained relationship between ponies and other higher species.”

“You can’t fucking die! I won’t let you!” Shy got up and ran into the living room. There, she grabbed one of the jars with a firefly.

The shadow under the jar changed to Nurse Redheart. Her words shot out like a bullet but Shy heard them clearly. “Before modern technology, earth ponies had to rely on natural medicine. If a pony’s heart stopped, for example, agitating a firefly correctly against that pony’s body could restart the organ.”

“I know that already!” Shy screamed. She ran back into Zecora’s room and dropped down beside her. Using her mouth to unscrew the lid, Shy quickly turned the jar over with the open end against Zecora’s chest. She held the jar with one leg and banged on the end with the other.

The firefly began to spark and look for an exit. It landed on Zecora. A shock went through the zebra, her muscles convulsing a moment. She went limp again and remained still. The firefly lay dead on her.

Beneath the firefly, a shadow Shy could not have possibly seen changed. Applejack said, “Now, Applebloom, you have to tell me if any of your classmates try and make you do something you shouldn’t be. No pony can force you to do anything you don’t want to.”

The jar and firefly slammed into the wall. “Shut up!” Shy screamed as she turned for the living room again. There were two more firefly jars. She grabbed one and was back to Zecora in a flash.

Untwisting the jar, Shy clung to it too tightly and it shattered in her arms. She cried out in pain as the glass cut her front legs and chest. The firefly flew out an open area in the patched over window she had broken in through.

This is pointless. Everything’s pointless. Zecora’s dead. I’m dead. Everypony is dead.

One jar left.

Apple Cobbler laughed with Apple Fritter, “You can’t be serious! She’d never!”

Blood hit the floor. Shy slipped entering the living room, body ramming into the food container.

Silver Spoon huffed, “Those cutie mark crusaders think they can just move away without a single word of goodbye?”

Light from the firefly threw shadows around the room. It sought to illuminate as much of Shy as it could in her embrace.

Carrot Top organized her wares. “Sale here! Come one pony, come all ponies!”

Dr. Hooves looked over the produce. He couldn’t decide what would make a better soup.

“SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!” Shy yelled, unscrewing the top of the jar as quickly and carefully as she could.

Horse, M.D. flipped through the pages of his medical book. “Ah here we are: pellucid. Ingesting raw pellucid, while in small amounts manageable, is deadly if taken in large quantities. Even if a pony is able to survive ingestion of the drug, full recovery is uncertain.”

“I know that!” Shy tipped the jar onto Zecora and held it steady.

Rarity shook her head sadly. “Ponies who take things like that… well, I wouldn’t want to associate with them. How could I respect somepony who doesn’t respect themselves?”

“I don’t care what you think!” Yellow hoof raised to hit the jar.

Zecora’s shadow looked at her. “What’s the matter, my dear Shy? You look as if you’re about to cry.” Shy froze. “Don’t you know, Fluttershy wasn’t lying. Don’t be sad, everything is fine.”

“YOU WON’T TAKE HER!” Shy shook and hit the jar as much as she could without letting it fall away from the zebra’s chest. The firefly within crackled loudly.

The insect landed on Zecora. Shy watched her body convulse, her muscles clenching.

Her eyes opening.

Zecora gasped and flailed. Shy pushed the jar away, scooped up the zebra in her front legs, and held her head against her chest. The zebra shook violently. “It’s ok, it’s ok!” Shy said again and again.

Slowly, Zecora calmed. Shy rocked her back and forth. “Zecora? Can you hear me?”

The zebra looked up into the pony’s eyes. “…Shy?”

A feeling unlike any other washed over Shy. “Yes, it’s me. I’m here.”

Zecora clung to Shy tightly, the light of day fading outside. There was no more light within the hut. Going to need a candle…

Shy’s thoughts were interrupted by a cold feeling on her face. She wiped her cheek and her hoof came away wet. I was… crying?

A shadow quietly stepped out of the room.

No… she was…

One week later…

The wooden dummy swung across the room. Tracking it skillfully, Shy lunged at the right moment, piercing its fake neck with her metal claws. It fell apart but its head continued swinging. Rope connected to pulleys held it aloft.

For the hundredth time Shy thought, I never thought Fluttershy’s town hall contraption would come in handy… She undid the straps on her helm and let it fall away. Horns attached to the sides of it pointing backwards stuck in the wood flooring. Her pink mane no longer obscured her vision, having been cut to just above her eyes. It had been a torturous experience without the aid of a unicorn.

A towel rested on a table at the end of the room. Shy made her way over to it to wipe the sweat off. Some food had been placed on it as well, half currently being nibbled on by Zecora. Shy hadn’t let the zebra out of her sight since deciding to cut her off from pellucid. She would sometimes slip into a dark place, hurting herself or attacking Shy until subdued.

It had been a long, frustrating week for the both of them. Shy sometimes wondered why she was keeping Zecora alive at all. The Thousands potion, the only real reason she had needed her, had failed, and there was not enough ingredients anymore to make another. They both knew that if Zecora went off to buy more she would never come back, or return more drugged up than ever. Shy shouldn’t have cared either way if the zebra died.

But the memory of the shadow’s speaking to her, of Fluttershy already having a place in her flock for the zebra, made Shy’s skin crawl. I won’t give her another.

“You need to eat more,” Shy scolded the zebra, wiping her face with the towel.

Zecora’s appetite had been fickle and it was starting to show on her body. The vegetables on her plate were barely chewed on. “I’m not very hungry,” she said in a monotone. Her eyes stayed staring down at the table.

Shy pushed the plate closer to Zecora. “Don’t make me rig up an IV. Eat.”

Frowning, the zebra bent and bit at a cabbage without bringing it up from the plate. It made Shy want to hit her but she could resist the impulse. Practicing fighting the dummies had been cathartic for her. That along with Fluttershy leaving her alone had improved her temper immensely.

Shy began striping off her armor. “Hey… how about I cook tonight?”

This made the zebra’s ear twitch. “You? Cook?”

“Yeah, Fluttershy’s read stacks of books on cooking. I’ll make something different.” When all her armor was off, Shy wiped down every piece. No mud clung to it or her anymore. She had been bathing with Zecora daily even though it meant going into Fluttershy’s cottage to use the only working bath in Ponyville. “Come on, we’ll wash off and go-”

-home-

“-to your hut.”

She looked doubtful still but Zecora nodded. The baths were always an awkward time for both of them and neither liked letting them go on too long. Zecora seemed to get frustrated about something when Shy washed her and Shy hated feeling so vulnerable.

Shy left her armor in the town hall instead of taking it with them.

“A broth isn’t very different… ” complained Zecora. She rocked her chair back and forth, gnawing on a root. A few magic candles lit the room in the fading daylight.

The smell coming from the pot told Shy she was on the right track. “Don’t complain until you’ve tried it.”

“Why did you leave your armor?” Zecora stopped her rocking. “You never go anywhere without it… ”

Shy’s back leg tapped on the floor, an unconscious habit whenever she was starting to get annoyed. “I don’t need it to cook.”

“But that monster has been coming into Ponyville, you know.”

“I know.” Shy lapped at the soup to get the taste. “It comes in the night and sleeps in the day.” She took a bowl in her mouth and dipped it in the pot.

“It doesn’t attack us even though it could easily kill us.” The pony couldn’t respond right away while she delivered the bowl to the table. “Maybe we should just... leave it alone?”

Zecora got her response from Shy’s hard set eyes. “I can’t do that. I can’t live in this hellhole forever. Now be quiet and eat your soup.”

Angry now herself, Zecora rotated the bowl till the part Shy had had in her mouth was closest to her. The zebra deliberately put her mouth in the same spot when she bent to drink from it. She knew it bothered the pony to no end when she did overtly intimate things.

Shy grimaced and turned away. Her saddened expression seemed to make the zebra confused. “Zecora… I can’t and won’t ever understand things like relationships or love. And I know this will be hard for you to do alone, but you need to leave this place.”

“What are you…?” Black hooves were brought up to either side of Zecora’s head as her thinking slowed. “What did you do…?”

“I don’t think I’m going to come back, Zecora.” Shy gently took the zebra in her front legs and laid her on the floor. “Don’t die here.” Zecora’s eyes closed and she yawned. It’s working fast…

“Don’t leave me… ”

The gentle rise and fall of her chest signified Zecora’s journey into sleep. Shy wanted to leave right then but stayed sitting beside the zebra. She put her forehead to the other living creature’s own softly. “I can’t give you what you want. Go find somepony who can.”

Rising, Shy put out the fire under the cooking pot, the magic candles, and locked the hut door behind her.

A trail of wet swamp mud ran ahead of him, the feeling of it under his feet different from the mud everywhere else. He wouldn’t have taken the same route every time, but there were no bad things here. The only two meanies stayed away from him.

His eyes were only open slits. Too much light and it would be painful. And then he would never make it back to her.

But, as he had done every night, he made it back. She was where she always was. This time, he knew she would be happy. All he wanted was for her to be happy again.

His maw lowered to the small patch of land she stood on. Tongue pushing them out, un-inflated balloons poured onto the ground. They landed on toys, fireworks, and other party supplies surrounding the pony.

Mama… play?

Pinkie Pie stayed completely still.

Mama… happy?

The monster lifted his claw and gently, softly, stroked the pink pony’s mane.

Mama… no meanies anymore… mama…

Her smile was frozen.

Tears came to his enormous eyes. Every night was the same. Every night he just wanted her to say his name again.

Heat erupted all around him. He pushed away from the island into the swamp and spun. Fire was appearing everywhere he turned. It caged him in a wide area, partially blinding him.

Except in one place where a tall, shining figure stood. Her cyan eyes seemed to glow red in the firelight.

He roared as loud as he could. Meanies! Stay away from mama!

The figure roared back and charged.

SHE’S MINE!

Chapter Break - Play

Zero years, zero months after meteor…

“By the night, it’s exploded!”

“I need more magic here! Support the barrier!”

“Celestia… ”

“Twilight, snap out of it! TWILIGHT!”

“…Gummy… ”

Gummy blocked out the yelling and looked up at Pinkie Pie. Mama?

Pinkie Pie had tears running down her face. Her smile was forced. Gummy didn’t like that fake smile. Something was wrong. “Gummy, we’re going to play a new game, OK?”

Play! The little alligator stomped his front claws into the dirt. Play, play!

The pink pony let out a little whimper. “Come here.” She brought Gummy in close and lay down on top of him, bringing her legs in to completely cover him up. No light at all could be seen by his big eyes.

Gummy made his “confused” noise. Mama, squished.

“It’s OK, Gummy. Everythin-”

The sound of what Gummy could only imagine was every single pony in Ponyville screaming drowned out Pinkie Pie’s words. It was one of the most terrifying things he had ever heard. The ground shook and Pinkie Pie’s body felt hotter and hotter around him.

But Gummy trusted his owner. He shut his eyes tight and stayed completely still. New game is scary, Mama… he let out a whine with his thoughts.

The screaming and shaking ended abruptly. Gummy could hear strange sounds outside his pony cocoon but no talking. Mama? Game over? He pushed on one of her protecting legs.

The limb detached from Pinkie’s body as he pushed. Strips of blackened flesh stretched. Burnt and burning smells hit Gummy like a blow to the face. He rushed out from under Pinkie Pie and vomited.

It was difficult for the little alligator to process what he saw around him. There was fire everywhere. Ponies who had been staring upwards a moment ago were now on the ground unmoving. Wet thuds could be heard every so often as pegasi fell from the sky to lie beside their still companions.

Gummy turned around to face Pinkie Pie. Her upper body and mane were aflame. Pink fur had become black on her face. Her eyes were shut.

Mama? Gummy gingerly shuffled towards the pink pony’s body. Fire continued to consume her hair and flesh. The smell of it all was getting stronger. Mama?

Fires continued to burn into the night throughout Ponyville and the surrounding forest. Though it burned his lungs to remain there, Gummy stayed next to Pinkie Pie as the sun set. He occasionally squeaked at her quietly.

Mama… need water…

But Pinkie Pie would never respond. Gummy didn’t understand what game she was playing or why they were still playing it. He did not find it fun at all.

Gummy suddenly heard voices coming closer. He knew by then that something was wrong with Pinkie Pie. Mama, ponies help! Mouth opening wide, Gummy made as much noise as he could muster.

“Shh, listen… sounds like something’s in the square.”

“Light it up!”

Gummy’s eyes slammed shut as light blossomed into existence. He tried to keep making noise but ended up coughing. Meanwhile the lights got closer. Mama, ponies help now!

“It’s just some pony’s pet,” a voice in front of Gummy said. “Doesn’t look magical.”

“Doesn’t matter what it looks like, grab it!”

A red glow appeared around Gummy. Having been lifted by magic many times before, he was unafraid. He looked behind him, expecting to see Pinkie Pie being similarly lifted. Her body remained where it was.

Before he could do anything about it, Gummy was tossed into a small, tiny-barred cage. He pushed against the metal and screamed. Mama! Don’t leave mama! Meanies!

“What’s the holdup back here?!” a voice yelled. The light from one of the ponies showed a white stallion with blond hair walking past. His blue eyes regarded Gummy for only a moment. A shudder ran down the alligator’s spine.

“We heard that thing over here, sir.”

“Well, it’s on the cart, so move out! I will not be the last one in the caravan!”

“Yes, sir!”

There was a shuffling of hooves and then Gummy felt motion beneath him and saw houses start to move past. He was getting further and further from Pinkie Pie.

He railed against the cage until exhaustion took him.

Rays of light shown through the bars overhead. Their glow warmed Gummy as he woke. There were voices all around him now along with the sound of wheels rolling on dirt. His growling stomach made him croak loudly. Hungry mama…

“Shut up already!” a voice to the side of Gummy yelled. A few slices of apple fell into his cage. He scooped them up and gnawed on them but they were too hard for his toothless mouth. His whines caught the attention of the pony walking alongside the cart again. “Shit, the damn thing is toothless!”

A glow enveloped the slices of apple. One by one they were smashed to mash. Gummy quickly consumed it all. The ponies around him spoke to one another as he ate.

“Can’t believe we’ve got one cart for this stupid thing.”

“Thought it was the dragon at first.”

“The what?”

“The dragon. Twilight Sparkle had a dragon.”

“Yeah, Celestia let her keep her exam dragon.”

“Well, where is it?”

“You idiots don’t pay attention to anything, do you? They found it in Canterlot. It’s with the Queen now.”

Gummy felt exhaustion creep up on him and let it take him into sleep.

Zero years, three months after meteor…

A sharp prod jolted Gummy awake. A loudspeaker overhead blared, “Subject is awake, begin when ready.” The metal walls around Gummy felt too close, too constricting. He started to hyperventilate. Where… can’t…

A slit in the wall opened and a bowl filled with food was pushed in. Gummy shied away from it at first. Another slit opened behind him and a blade poked him towards the bowl. Reluctantly he shuffled over to it. Inside was a pleasant smelling mashed substance.

“Eat,” boomed the loudspeaker.

Crying silently, Gummy ate what was before him. It tasted of apples and pears, but there was some other, hard objects mixed in. He swallowed these without pause. He was too hungry to care.

The voice came on overhead again. “Subject has consumed the dark crystals. Begin phase two.”

Gummy heard the sound of metal scraping behind him. He spun and saw a hole now in the opposite wall. A rabbit with antlers coming out of its head was pushed into the small confines. Its eyes displayed its fear for the world to see.

“Agitating catalyst now.”

A blade came out of the wall again to jab the jackalope in Gummy’s direction. It reacted out of pure fear, leaping forward to attack Gummy. With nowhere to run, Gummy took a bite to his front left leg thrown up in defense. The jackalope clawed at the alligator while still latched on by the teeth.

There was fear inside Gummy like nothing he had ever felt before. His easy-going life with no pain or loss was gone. Deep within him the fear boiled into something completely new to him.

Rage.

Bubbling from inside his stomach, coursing through his veins like lava, hate filled him to the brim. His scales thickened so quickly the jackalope’s teeth were crushed to powder. They overlapped one another, breaking the flesh beneath. Blood oozed from his entire body. To compensate, he began to grow.

“Subject is responding to the crystals! It’s growing, get sedatives ready!”

The jackalope, with no escape from the inevitable in sight, continued to claw at Gummy’s now steel like outer coating. While the attacks did nothing externally, internally Gummy fumed. PAIN ENDS NOW!

Razor sharp teeth grew in his maw. Like a waterfall, blood gushed from his broken gums. The nails from his claws grew to match their new size as well. The jackalope became covered in blood, slipping on the ground as it attempted to keep up its assault.

Gummy lifted his claw, which was now half the size of the jackalope, and smashed the creature into the concrete.

“Dear sweet Celestia… ”

Purple eyes shot to the speaker set high into the wall. Gummy lifted himself up so he was supported by his back legs and grabbed the wall with his front claws. The metal crunched under his grip.

“GET A SEDATIVE IN THERE! KNOCK IT OUT, NOW!”

Needles attached to poles entered the confine and stabbed at Gummy’s hide. His thick scales bent them all. He hissed in agitation and tried to pursue the poles back to the slits they were inserted from.

“ITS UNDERSIDE IS UNPROTECTED!”

As Gummy stood on his back legs again to reach the holes, needles rammed into his stomach. He had no time to think before numbness overcame him, followed by darkness.

One year, seven months after meteor…

“…and it’s all over!” Big Voice yelled. “Toothy remains undefeated!”

Lots of other voices yelled around Gummy as he stared down at the half of the dire wolf that remained outside his mouth. The back legs twitched. Twitcha… twitch…

“Toothy! Come!” Master said.

Gummy spat the half of the dire wolf in his mouth back out before turning to Master. Meanie dead, Master.

The unicorn levitated some meat beside himself. “Good boy, Toothy. Come home now.” He tossed the meat into the cage behind him.

Hungry after growing more during the battle, Gummy rushed into the large cage to the food. The door closed and locked behind him.

Master levitated the cage onto a cart and had earth pony Servant pull it. The unicorn walked beside the cage and examined Gummy while they walked away from the arena. “You were a very good investment, Toothy. But you got to stop growing. I can’t keep buying bigger cages for you.”

Gummy picked at a piece of meat stuck in his teeth with his tongue.

Sighing, the unicorn shook his head. “I wish you understood more than just killing things. I can see why those scientists were so eager to get rid of you… ” Master walked to the front of the cart and hopped in. The ride home wouldn’t take long through the streets.

One year, twelve months after meteor…

“Crushzor just cannot seem to penetrate Toothy’s scales!”

Again and again the manticore’s scorpion tail slammed into Gummy’s back, but it never pierced his scales. Gummy’s purple eyes, which were now not as large in relation to his body, tracked the beast as it backpedaled from his pursuit. A simple shift of his head prevented the scorpion tail from jabbing his eyes any time the manticore became bold.

Big Voice continued his commentary. Gummy often used it to predict the current meanie’s movements. This meanie, however, was proving to be more trouble than the others. Gummy just couldn’t keep up with it.

Ah, use little meanie way…

With a little hop, Gummy retreated and curled his tail in beside himself, trying to look small. It caused a wave of confusion in the ponies crowding the bleaches on the outside of the arena.

The manticore did exactly what Gummy wanted: sensing weakness, it charged.

Digging his back claws into the dirt, Gummy used all his strength to lift his body up with only his back legs, extending his front claws out in a slash. The move caught the pouncing manticore midair and flipped him into the sky. Gummy stood completely on his back legs and thrust his claws into the descending beast, catching him in a gory display of strength and cunning.

“Toothy! Enough!”

Gummy used a back claw to push the manticore’s body off his front claws. He thought it was odd he could hear Master clearly through the crowd cheering, but then he realized the crowd wasn’t cheering. They were completely silent.

“Toothy, home, now!”

Master sounded upset so Gummy quickly got into his cage. It was so cramped he had to tuck his tail in beside him. His body had grown to match the manticore’s.

“Get us out of here, now!” As soon as Gummy’s cage hit the wagon they were rolling. Master sat at the front of the wagon and looked back at Gummy every now and again. His eyes showed something Gummy only saw in the arena.

Fear.

Two years, three months after meteor…

“Toothy! Wake up!”

Gummy opened one eye lazily. There had been no meanies in a long time. He was starting to wonder if he could just lay there and eat forever. No more meanies...

But Master looked stern, which meant there must be more meanies. Gummy opened and closed his mouth to signify he was ready. Smiling sadly, Master told him, “I know it’s been a while since your last fight, Toothy. This next one should be the last. Here.” The unicorn slid a large bowl of chopped up meat through the cage’s feed hole.

Though there was something sparkling in the meat, Gummy devoured it without hesitation.

“I… you shouldn’t grow anymore, now… just… go out fighting, Toothy… ”

Gummy cleaned the bowl with his tongue and laid his head down to rest again.

Two years, four months after meteor…

Gummy felt awe at the arena around him. He had fought meanies in many strange places, but this place was enormous. The circular wall surrounding him was raised three times his height. Seats set above the walls were packed with ponies of all colors. The roof overhead secured dozens of lights, ensuring no shadows existed below.

The gate behind him was barred shut. Gummy thought he heard Master saying something but there was too much noise around him. Normally he would be able to zero in on a voice after a moment, but something inside of him had changed. He felt slower, dumber, and unsure of why he was even fighting meanies in the first place.

A pony wearing a shiny crown rose and the crowd quieted. “Welcome, ponies of Equestria, to the Baltimare Arena!” The crowd roared its approval and she continued. “Tonight we have a very special event! Toothy, the undefeated beast, is all that stands between Basalt, the red thief, and his freedom!” With a groan, the gate across the arena from Gummy opened. Out walked a juvenile red dragon, his wings tied to his sides with glowing rope, arms and feet chained, a pony guard to either side.

Gummy couldn’t make out every detail of the dragon, but his golden eyes made the alligator shake. This meanie not like others.

The ponies escorting the dragon removed his chains and retreated out of the arena. Once the gate was secured again, a young green dragon standing beside the pony in the crown spoke. “You fight and die to honor Equestria and her queen!” Puffing green fire from his lungs, he yelled out, “Begin!”

Basalt extended his arms wide and rushed towards Gummy. Mind sluggish, Gummy retreated to the wall to buy himself more time. The crowd around him jeered. Now within striking distance, the dragon slashed down at Gummy’s face.

Regardless of how slow his thoughts were, Gummy still had his honed body. He dodged to the side and whipped his tail around. It caught Basalt in the side but the dragon grabbed it, claws digging in. Gummy felt his thick scales give way.

Basalt secured his footing by digging his claws into the dirt. The dragon lifted the alligator up into the air by the tail and slammed him onto his back.

Dazed, Gummy peddled his feet in the air. He knew he shouldn’t be on his back, that his underside had always been his weakness. Basalt leapt and came down, but Gummy managed to roll out of the way in time.

The crowd was going crazy. So much noise assaulted Gummy that he found it hard to concentrate. The bubbling in his stomach that usually accompanied fighting meanies was missing. Meanie hurts, must pay attention. Focusing, Gummy felt the bubbling inside churn again, if only slightly.

Basalt roared and charged again. This time, Gummy stood his ground and prepared to fight back.

Before either could do anything more, the lights above went out.

The crowd somehow managed to make more noise than before, but Gummy kept trying to focus on where Basalt had been. He summoned up the last remains of the bubbling inside him. His eyes felt strange as things in the darkness became easier to see. A few different unicorns in the crowd lit their horns. The light of them stung Gummy as he searched the arena for Basalt.

But the dragon was no longer in the arena. Ponies screamed as the dragon tore through the crowd towards an exit. Ponies wearing armor descended upon him in the stands, fighting and dying as they tried to stop him. Gummy watched it all from the arena floor.

A groan near him turned his attention back down. The gate leading out was open. Master was levitating a piece of meat and gesturing wildly to him.

Confused but hungry, Gummy followed.

Two years, eleven months after meteor…

Gummy raised his head at the distant sound. Noise traveled far in the sewers, and his sensitive vision forced him to rely on his hearing. He hated leaving his soft bed of blankets but Master always told him to be careful. Other ponies meanies.

“It’s just me, Toothy!” Master said in the distance. Relived, Gummy rested his head back down. The unicorn entered the large area a few moments later. His saddlebags had less food in them than Gummy normally saw.

The alligator made his irritation clear by stamping his front claw. Master set his bags down and stood before the beast. “Toothy, I’ve decided. You can’t stay here anymore. Once the army comes back and finds out about you they’ll kill us both.” Gummy tilted his head in confusion. Sighing, Master held up a piece of meat from his bags. “Let’s go.

The sewer grate was rusted shut. “Toothy, could you open this for me?” Master asked. He mimed pushing motions.

Gummy lowered his head and rammed the grate. It popped off and fell into the mud. Master said, “Good boy, Toothy,” and walked out into the rain.

Gummy followed. The world before him was drastically different from the one behind him. Trees and hills ran on and on. Not a skyscraper was in sight.

“Off you go, Toothy. Go live the way you were meant to… ” Master turned and started back into the sewer. A big green tail lifted and softly stopped the pony from leaving.

The pony froze in fear, but Gummy gently nuzzled his cheek with his giant face. Master not meanie…

After that, the changed alligator rushed out into the darkness.

Four years, three months after meteor…

Gummy continued following the pack of wolves up the mountain more out of spite than necessity. The pack had nearly killed him a week earlier when they attacked him while sleeping on his back. His unprotected underbelly was still tender from their clawing.

He had never been as high up as they were going before. Clouds surrounded him. Had he only been relying on his poor vision he would have been lost, but his other senses kept him on course.

When he came out of the clouds he had to stop his pursuit to breathe. The stars overhead made looking up difficult. Gummy slid into a small cave and took long, deep breaths. The upper half of a mountain was visible far into the distance poking out from the clouds. A city on the side of the mountain was also visible to him, but it was all so difficult to make out. Something about them was familiar.

A pink light bloomed from the city. Unlike every light before it, this one was not painful for Gummy to gaze upon. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

No… other pink… better…

…

MAMA!

Gummy rushed down the mountainside towards the memory of home.

Five years, six months after meteor...

It took over a year for Gummy to find his way back to Ponyville. His memory of the city was nothing but tatters anymore, and his squinting gaze made it extra hard to compare what he saw to what he remembered, but he knew he was finally home.

Mama, home now! He squeaked loudly, walking between two buildings.

“Hey, what’s that?”

Gummy froze. He had been so wrapped up in coming home he hadn’t even noticed the pony. Just one pony...

“I don’t see anything?”

“Huh, I could have sworn I saw something.”

The pony was talking in two voices and getting closer. Pony not mama… Gummy lowered himself and prepared to pounce.

Pony meanie…

Chapter 14 - Thousands: Part Four

Five years, nine months after meteor...

She turned the fading page gently. The top corner got slowed by the blanket over her. Her head rose up a few inches, raising the blanket, and the page completed turning. Light from the flashlight illuminated colorful images.

“And here, Angel, is where the princess gallops through the dark, scary woods.” A small smile appeared on Fluttershy’s face as Angel lifted his little paws to cover his eyes. “Aw, it’s alright, hunny. We can skip this part.”

“Can you?”

Fear shot through Fluttershy like lightning. She pulled the blanket off her head and fumbled with the flashlight. Its first pass across the room revealed nothing. The second pass, however, cast a shadow behind an enormous alicorn. “Celestia!”

“Fluttershy,” the pony princess tossed her head, her long, multicolored hair limply hanging to the floor. “We need to talk.”

The memories of her last encounter with Celestia made Fluttershy want to pull the blanket back over her head. “Are you here to… hurt me again?” she squeaked out.

Sighing, “You know I can’t hurt you,” Celestia sat. “I want to talk about Shy. You know where she is, don’t you?”

Fluttershy kept the blanket ready to be pulled up. “I don’t know… we haven’t talked in a long time… ”

“We don’t have time for this!” The alicorn stomped her front hooves. The yellow pony squeaked and pulled the blanket up to her nose. “She’s fighting that thing right now! You have to help her!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about! Please go away!” Fluttershy pulled the blanket completely over her head. Go away, go away, go away, go-

“-OUT OF MY WAY!” Shy screamed as she charged forward.

Rain water had already soaked her fur, seeping into the armor to the pony within. Mud splashed on her as she ran. It failed to stick, a thin layer of oil temporarily protecting her from its cling.

The clouds in the sky above were locked together so tightly no moon nor starlight shone through. It would have been pitch black were it not for the fire that encircled the area. The flames revealed the only two living beings in the entire swamp to one another. Both were rushing head first towards the other.

Shy’s heart felt like it was moments away from beating out of her armor. The flames were far from her but she felt a burning inside. All her senses were focused completely on the monstrosity, big as a manticore, that would soon be upon her.

Is this what being alive feels like?

The creature put one claw in front of himself, sharp ends pointed like spears. In a split second decision, Shy jumped. Her wing muscles unconsciously flexed even though one was gone and the other was bound to her within her armor. The speed with which she was moving forward allowed her to dodge over the claw.

But she miscalculated how much lift she would get out of the soft mud underfoot. Seeing her directly before him now, midair, the monster began to open his maw to catch her. In a desperate move, Shy reached out before the beast’s mouth could completely open and pressed the top of his snout downwards with her metal claws.

Her momentum was again enough to save her. Front legs spring boarding off his opening mouth, the pony somersaulted over the monster. She landed on her stomach on a small piece of raised land. GET UP! Her mind screamed at her, the wind completely knocked out of her lungs.

The sound of splashing behind her spurred her on. Shy put her back legs back under her and spun.

A split second later she threw her legs back, falling to the ground. Two claws slammed together in a clap over her head. The monster had tried to squash her in an instant, but she had seen the motion and reacted faster.

Claws moving away, Shy heard the monster hiss in agitation. The pegasus rolled to the side, the horns set on her helmet scraping grooves in the wet dirt. She saw the monster’s head dig into the ground where she had been a moment earlier. Again, Shy hopped to her lower legs as soon as she was out of the beast’s attack range.

She set her legs in preparation of another attack. The monster took a few steps back and eyed her. It stood on its back legs, front legs slightly raised as if mimicking her.

My turn.

Shy exploded into motion. Clearly not expecting the move, the monster reacted too slowly. Shy slashed with her front right leg and continued the motion into a spin. When the retaliation she knew was coming came, she was already past the creature.

Blood dripped from her metal claw. Shy shook it to clean some of it off. Underbelly. Got it.

The monster roared in anger and turned to face her again.

Celestia leaned over the bed and yelled at the quivering form under the blanket. “Without you she is going to die, and that means you’re going to die!”

“No pony is going to die!” Fluttershy yelled back, throwing her pillow at the alicorn. “Shy will be fine!”

The feathery projectile flew wide of its target. “She’s fighting something she doesn’t understand,” Celestia pressed.

“She knows it better than I do! What could I do to help her?” The yellow pony, still under her protecting blanket, crawled off the side of the bed away from Celestia. “Please, just go away!”

“Fluttershy! I am not going anywhere!” The alicorn lifted her front legs and brought them down hard enough on the bed to smash it in half.

The bed bent gently and returned to normal.

Celestia was shocked into silence. Fluttershy kept crawling away, making it to the top of the stairs. “What have you done?” the alicorn whispered.

She turned and bit down on the blanket. Her head whipped back, pulling it away.

The pony had vanished.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?”

Fast pony, Gummy observed as he faced the black figure again. Low. He dropped onto all fours again. Mud got into his cut and stung, but he ignored it.

The burning in his gut came from the endless fights he had endured. He missed the other bubbling, burning inside that had been missing for so long. With it, he would have destroyed the invader in moments.

The figure stalked around Gummy. She knows belly is weak.

The overgrown alligator launched himself forward, jaws wide. Seeing the attack coming, the figure easily got out of the way. But Gummy already knew what she would do. He landed and launched himself again, turning expertly in the mud.

Mud sticking to her legs, the figure couldn’t get as far away this time. Gummy landed and launched a third time, jaws snapping shut hooves away from the invader. Their movements were again hindered by the mud. For a fourth time, Gummy pushed off his four legs and attacked.

As he flew forward, he lost sight of the figure completely. Only when he landed and felt pain along his underside did he understand. Under! BEHIND!

Weight on his back pushed him down into the mud. The figure clawed wildly at his back, seizing the temporary advantage. Gummy pushed off his left legs and rolled onto his back as quickly as he could, instinctively trying to get the being off of him.

But then there was a weight on his stomach, and Gummy realized just how long it had been since he had faced a powerful, smart opponent. Bait, roll, jump.

Blood flew where the figure slashed.

“Come out!” Celestia screamed, hooves slamming open the door to the bathroom. It was devoid of life. “So now you can teleport? So much for your ‘reality’!” A sound downstairs turned the alicorn’s head.

She leapt the staircase and landed lightly at the bottom. Fluttershy’s living room was immaculate and still. Celestia followed the sound she had heard into the kitchen. On the stove there, a tea kettle quietly whistled.

Furious, Celestia used a front leg to knock the kettle into the wall. It sailed across the sky as she thought it would but landed lightly onto the table. The owner of the home put her hooves on either side of the kettle, lifted it, and poured herself a cup. “Tea?” she offered the alicorn.

Celestia sat and glared at the pony. “Whatever new game you’re playing, whatever illusion you’re using now, it doesn’t matter. What matters-”

“It’s very good, made from local leaves.”

“-what matters,” the alicorn repeated louder, “is that you help Othershy-”

“Um, her name is Shy, now.”

The table beside Fluttershy was flipped into the wall as Celestia rushed her. The pony threw the kettle into the larger being’s face while falling back in her chair to avoid her. It should have smashed into a thousand pieces, slowing the alicorn, but it flew through her to land back on the stove.

Celestia pinned Fluttershy down, her front hooves pressing down on the smaller pony’s front legs. Fluttershy showed no discomfort even though the weight should have broken her legs. In fact, her expression was calm.

“Why do we dance like this?” she asked the infuriated alicorn.

“Because you won’t do as you’re told!” Celestia spat back.

Shy’s swinging front legs were trailed in the air by streams of red.

But the monster did not allow her time to revel in her attacks. An oversized claw batted her off with enough force to send her flying. The pony sailed back-first into a tree a few meters away. Though not the best cushion, the armor helped keep her spine from breaking against the bark.

Landing on her stomach, Shy tried to push the pain she felt all over away. Though she wasn’t bleeding half as badly as she knew the monster was, she was still being tossed around like a-

Giant teeth began to enter her peripheral vision.

Screaming an obscenity, Shy curled into a ball and rolled towards them. Metal scraped against razor sharp fangs. The monster’s advancing maw scooped her up instead of biting into her. Inside his mouth, Shy uncurled and flailed wildly.

Obviously shocked by the pony’s continued good luck and confused by the current circumstances, the monster tried to spit her out rather than swallow her whole.

Seeing a chance to do major damage, Shy dragged her claws down the beast’s tongue as it pushed into her. She fell out of its maw into the mud covered in blood.

Splashing told her the beast was trying to get away from her.

“GET BACK HERE!” she yelled after it, rising from the bog water. It was starting to find its grip on her. This ends now!

The yellow pony’s expression went from calm to angry. “You don’t rule here anymore, Celestia! You lost that right when you failed Equestria!”

“I failed nopony!” the alicorn said through clenched teeth. “You’d speak to me of failure when you’re about to leave Othershy to die?”

“I would never let any of my friends die!” Fluttershy screamed.

“I saw your thoughts! You aren’t planning to help her!” Celestia stomped the floor with her back leg. “Why?!”

The calm returned to Fluttershy. “You’re so powerful, why don’t you help her?”

“…so that’s it, isn’t it? You don’t want her to know yet… ”

“She doesn’t want my help, so it’s up to you.”

The alicorn spat at Fluttershy. It hit the pony’s cheek but she did not flinch.

“Your endless planning is going to cost you, someday.”

“Not before it costs you.”

Celestia stepped back from Fluttershy. She glared down at the pony on the floor silently. Tossing her head, multicolored hair flying wildly, she turned and galloped out of the house.

Gummy kept himself facing the dark figure as he retreated backwards. Her clawing had wounded him but not gravely. Not yet. He knew it was only a matter of time before she did. Too long since fight…

He felt land underfoot and quickly looked back. Behind him stood Pinkie Pie surrounded by toys. Her skeleton could be seen through holes in the pink fabric that covered her head to tail. What remained of her mane lay limp from the constant rain. The shifting light from the fire around them made shadows dance across her face.

Mama… no can win…

Shadows played along her permanent smile. Her eye socket was completely exposed.

Gummy could hear the figure yelling and getting closer.

Mama… help me…

Whether from some trick of the light or Gummy’s deteriorating health, he thought he saw something within the hole of Pinkie Pie’s eye. Fire.

FIRE

It boiled up inside his gut. Steam rose from the wounds along his chest and out of his mouth as they closed. His mind sharpened like a razor. He even felt himself grow in size by a miniscule amount.

Thank you, Mother, he thought, clearer than any thought he had ever had.

Gummy turned back to the figure.

Shy knew instantly that the monster had somehow gotten stronger. Its wounds closed, its stance returned to a confident one, and when it looked down at her she felt smaller.

It stayed standing on its back two legs as it approached. A massive claw swiped down at her. Shy dodged and tried to counter but had to dodge the beast’s other claw instantly. It advanced and continued swiping at her from different directions.

The creature’s attacks didn’t frighten Shy one bit, but its unwavering gaze locked onto her was starting to. This is no longer a beast.

Her thoughts betrayed her. The back of his claw slammed into her. Again, Shy flew through the air. Her body skipped once along the water before crashing down into it. Numbness ran from her front right leg down her side.

The pony rose gasping from the water. No, this isn’t fair! I was winning!

Seemingly content with the damage he caused, the monster walked slowly towards her. Shy got to her legs but faltered, off balanced. The monster’s gaze almost looked amused.

No! Shy’s mind screamed in defiance even as her front right leg hung limply. No…

…maybe it won’t be so bad…

No more pain, no more suffering, no more Fluttershy…

No more Zecora…

Even though it hurt, this was the most alive I’ve ever felt … it felt… good…

The monster halted a few hooves away from her and rose to its full height. Time seemed to slow down.

Yeah… end it…

A familiar voice whispered in her ear: you can keep feeling this way, alive.

!? Skadi!?

Do you want to? The voice questioned.

I…

…

Say it…

…

…yes…

LOUDER!

“I want to be alive!” Shy shouted to the heavens at the top of her lungs.

The swamp water pulsated away from her, pushing the monster back several pony lengths.

No!

Gummy realized he had made a terrible mistake delaying his victory. He regained his balance after being pushed back and-

A pink glow as bright as a star was shining out from where the figure had stood. Unlike most light, this didn’t hurt Gummy’s eyes to look at. It felt inviting, familiar.

It was moving closer but all he could do was stare.

Shy felt power washing over her. She could feel every droplet of water on her body like they were a part of her. The swamp water around her felt like a long-lost limb.

The element of harmony was glowing so bright she thought she had been blinded. She couldn’t see anything through it.

ATTACK! Skadi yelled in her head.

The water covering her and around her seemed to push her forward and up. Shy didn’t fight it. She brought her metal claws up above her head in preparation.

NOW!

The water sucked her downwards. Shy’s black claws swiped down as she did. There was only a single moment of resistance. The wave she had been riding continued forward, passing around her harmlessly but crashing into the monster.

As quickly as it coursed through her, the power faded away. The light from the element of harmony slowly dimmed till darkness returned.

The first thing Shy noticed was that it was suddenly snowing. The fire that had lit the area around her had dwindled. She kept herself prepared to dodge as she moved forward, unable to see well anymore. What she assumed was the monster’s body lay still just ahead.

Giant claws rested palm up, water pooling in them. Shy took a wide path around them. The smell of blood overpowered everything else but Shy couldn’t see the extent of the damage her attack had caused.

Enough to do the job, she thought. “Enough to beat you, you freak!”

The monster made no response.

“You… you-” she stumbled forward. Her weariness was increasing. “Not yet… ” Shy treaded through the sticky swamp water to where Pinkie Pie stood silently.

The door to Fluttershy’s cabin was open. Shy, carrying Pinkie Pie in her front legs gingerly, walked in and set her down. Fluttershy herself trotted up and wrapped her front legs around Pinkie Pie in a hug.

“I missed you! Tell me all about your trip!” the pegasus said, smiling ear to ear.

Shy slowly pulled Pinkie Pie away from Fluttershy. “Our deal.”

“Oh, of course! How silly of me to forget!” Fluttershy mimicked bonking herself on the head and stuck her tongue out. She cleared her throat. “Shy, you are free to come and go from here as you please.”

The pony on two legs immediately turned and walked out of the cabin. A strange feeling hit her as she walked out the door, like walking through a thin film. Fluttershy tried calling after her but she kept on walking, never once looking back.

As Shy walked, she stripped off her dented armor. They made a trail of metal stuck in the mud behind her. The element of harmony was the last thing she removed, the jewelry making a splash as it buried itself halfway in the mud. Follow the tracks to Appleloosa, and then on to Dodge City.

On and on, as far as I-

A bird chirped loudly near her. The pony slowly opened her eyes. Dawn rays peeking through the cloud cover revealed it to be a blue jay sitting on her bare stomach. It chirped again.

“But you said… ”

The bird looked at her curiously. A few others flew past, chirping along with the jay. They were searching for worms or other insects.

“You said I could leave… ”

I said you could go from here, Fluttershy gently whispered.

“Ponyville…”

Yes, my Ponyville. An image of the cabin blossomed in Shy’s mind. Pristine tea sets rested on clean linen covering expensive furniture.

“You… ” More than just rain water ran down Shy’s cheeks. “You liar. You used me.”

Fluttershy was quiet. In her mind the image of the cabin turned slowly, as if she was trying to use it to justify what she had done. Reality setting in crushed Shy further.

“You took my world and made it yours.”

...I’m sorry...

“FUCK YOU!”

Frightened, the blue jay took to the air. Overhead, the clouds seemed to be thinner than usual. More dawn light was streaming through.

Shy laid there watching the clouds move, the sun’s light change the world around her. Shadows along the branches overhead thinned more and more. The tears eventually stopped but her vision was still blurry, giving the world a surreal look. This is it.

“Shy?”

The pony looked to her side. Zecora, looking out of breath, trotted to her. “I’ve been searching all over for you! Are you alright?”

Am I alright?

“Shy..?”

The pony returned to her two legged posture. Her hooves dragged in the mud.

“Shy?! Wait, please!”

Shy wrapped her right front leg around Zecora’s neck and gripped her in a headlock. The zebra resisted but the pony was leagues stronger than her. She was forced to turn around and walk with Shy holding her.

Zecora pleaded through tears. “Please! I’m sorry! Tell me what I did and I won’t do it again! Please!” She begged on and on, her voice cracking in fear of what was to come.

Shy ignored her. The sun was trying it’s hardest to pierce through the clouds above her. A bird, another blue jay, hopped from branch to branch, edging closer to another of its kind.

I’m not alright.

As soon as she figured out where she was going, Zecora’s pleading ended and her shaking began. Her hut came into view a moment later. Its burnt front made it almost look like just another tree to Shy.

The trees heal. Some things never do. Some things can only be destroyed.

Shy walked Zecora into the home and turned to close the door, her grip on the zebra loosening a moment. Zecora took this chance to slip free but tripped over her own legs. Perhaps thinking her fate was now sealed, she laid in a heap and stared up at Shy, ready to beg more.

When she saw Shy’s expression the words failed to come out.

“Why... what’s wrong, Shy?”

Bending her back legs, Shy wrapped her front legs around Zecora’s body and lifted her so they were face to face. Flustered, Zecora blushed and turned her head away.

Show me...

Shy’s front legs wrapped tighter around the zebra. Their bodies pressed against one another. The pony could feel Zecora’s heartbeat going faster and faster.

Show me what it means to be alive...

Determined, Shy pressed her lips against Zecora’s. What little resistance there was fell away quickly. She felt the zebra’s front legs wrap around her neck.

I want to know... I want to see what I am...

The pony lifted the zebra up so her hooves dangled. Slowly so their mouths never left one anothers, she walked towards Zecora’s room.

Is this what being alive feels like?

The pony sipped her tea slowly, savoring the taste. It had been so long since she enjoyed a good cup of tea. Pinkie Pie was in the kitchen cooking up something for dinner.

“You think you’re so smart, don’t you?”

Fluttershy took another slow sip of her tea. Celestia stared at her through the window, her eyes burning embers.

“Enjoy it while you can.”

The alicorn vanished. The pony moved the cup in her hooves around to stir the leaves. She and Pinkie Pie would have to go out to get more soon. That’s fine. It’ll be nice to see the town again.

After all, Ponyville’s never been safer.

Chapter Break - Shocker: Part One

Two days before meteor…

Manehatten, Equestria…

Waves gently lapped against the finely ground sand. Only in bad weather did they ever become more violent than they were today, their power broken by the island in the center of the bay. With the addition of the beautiful summer weather, the beaches a short flight from Manehatten were currently crowded with its citizens.

But somehow Gilda had found an area without snooty sunbathers and fillies high on their youth. Merely a clawful of beach goers dotted the stretch of sand to her left and right. She sat with her wings extended to their fullest and closed her eyes.

The path that took her to this moment flashed in her mind, as it often did while idle. It had been months since she had visited, and subsequently left, Ponyville. From that stinging moment she had decided to go back to where she had grown up: Manehatten. The city had changed some in the years she had been gone. Still, she reconnected with an old friend and tried to forget her past.

Cool water hitting her chest brought to the present. Signy laughed from where she stood with her legs in the ocean. “The point of coming to the beach is to enjoy the water, you know.”

Gilda smiled at her griffon friend. The two of them had grown up on the same street, but Gilda’s parents had sent her to Cloudsdale’s flight school to escape from the city’s escalating violence at the time. After flight school, Gilda had moved to Fillydelphia, eventually moving her family there even when Manehatten’s crime problem had started to get better.

And though she had a home and family waiting for her in Fillydelphia, Gilda had found herself in the “Twin City”, nicknamed because of the city of clouds above the city on the island. Wandering the streets, trying to figure out what to do with her life, she had stumbled upon Signy. The other griffon took Gilda in and the two had become inseparable.

Signy splashed Gilda again. “Alright, alright!” she said, warding off anymore splashing with her claws. Gilda walked on her lion paws towards her friend. Signy had been born with similar markings to Gilda, but only one spot blotted the area around her right eye. The spot’s color was comparable to the blue of the ocean she stood in.

The water was colder than Gilda thought it would be. She waded into the gentle blue waves and stood beside her friend. For the naturally mountain born griffons, beaches were a wonder they enjoyed for the simple pleasure of them. Gilda herself had been born overseas in griffon lands, immigrating to Manehatten with her parents long ago.

Again, her thoughts were pushed aside by Signy. The blue spotted griffon threw her arms around Gilda and tackled her into the water. They both came up laughing. “I remember a time when you would be furious at me for doing that,” remarked Signy.

“Would I have?” Gilda wiped water from her face with a claw. “I guess I changed.”

Signy pressed her beak to Gilda’s chest and nuzzled her. “I guess so… ”

Blushing, Gilda wrapped her arms around Signy and buried her face in the griffon’s feathers.

The tour bus squealed to a stop outside the royal guard compounds gate, high walls surrounding the rest of the complex. The vehicle’s outside was covered with advertisements for “tours of Equestria’s greatest city”, along with a few minor sponsors. Ponies, griffons, tigers, and a few horses peered out the large windows on either side of the bus.

Quick Fix, a rust colored unicorn with white mane standing at the front of the bus, cleared her throat before speaking into the microphone. “Before we begin the tour, I would like to thank the local royal guards of Equstria for keeping our city safe.” There were a few claps among the current crowd. Many seats on the bus were empty. I hate beach days, Quick Fix thought.

Warm, sunny days like that day saw many citizens of Lower Manehatten fleeing the heavily cloud covered city to find refuge at the beaches. “Beach days”, as they called them, were the bane of every tour guide in the city.

A tapping on the closed bus door made Quick Fix jump. She pulled a lever beside her and the door slid open. Royal guard armor shining in the afternoon sun, Steady, a brown unicorn with gray mane, smiled up at Quick Fix. “Hey Sis, could I get a ride into Little Rock?”

“I’m working, Steady!” the tour guide hissed at her brother. “How’s it going to look if I keep giving you rides into the city?”

Steady put a hoof onto the first step into the bus. “That you’re the best big sister ever?” The door started to close and caught him half in, half out of the bus. His front legs wiggled widly. “Hey!”

Sighing, Quick Fix pulled the lever again and let her brother in. “Just don’t-”

“Welcome to the finest bus tour in Manehatten!” boomed Steady into the microphone, making the tourists jump. “You’re all in for a treat today because you’ve got the best tour guide Sights of Lower Manehatten has to offer! Sit back, relax, and enjoy!” The stallion sat with a large smile at the front of the bus, the tourists behind him clapping.

Quick Fix glared at him but couldn’t bring herself to scold him. He always knew how to impress.

She sat in the driver’s seat and released the parking break. “Our tour will take us through the Royal Guard District into Little Rock, where we will stop for lunch!”

The stairs going down into the basement creaked under the griffon’s weight. He breathed a sigh of relief when he made it to the bottom and set down the box in his arms. “You sure this is ok?” he asked to the stallion carefully descending behind him.

“I told you, it’s cool,” the dark gray earth pony with grayish mane said. He bent his back legs and slid the saddle bags of clothes off his back. “You can stay here as long as you need.” His horn glowed and flipped a switch on the wall, turning on the light hanging overhead.

“Just ‘till I get a job.” The griffon scratched at his dark purple spotted cheek. His feathers were missing in patches all over his body. Bloodshot eyes darted around the basement, taking it in. “I don’t want to be a burden or anything.”

“Armod, we’ve known each other a long time,” the stallion assured his friend, pushing the saddlebags to the side of the basement. “If you stay here a month or two or three, that’s fine.”

Armod sat on the box he had just brought down. “Thank you, Graphite.”

“There is one rule: don’t touch the boxes over there.” Graphite pointed to a stack of unmarked boxes in one corner of the basement. “I’m holding some stuff for a friend.”

“Sure, sure,” the griffon nodded repeatedly. His scratching claw had moved down to his chest.

The unicorn smiled meekly and looked over the nearly empty basement again. His eyes fell upon the wall clock set near the ceiling. “Ah, shit! I’ve got to get going! Can you bring the rest of the stuff down yourself?”

The griffon stopped his scratched for a moment to wave the pony off with both claws. “I’ll take care of it; you’ve done more than enough for me.”

“Alright.” Graphite ascended the stairs. “If you need anything there’s a grocery store down the street. Don’t wander around though. This is the Upper East Side, not West Village!” He slammed the door closed behind him.

Armod spent a few minutes scratching himself. He turned and knelt by the box he had brought down, peeling the tape off and opening it. Inside was an alchemist’s inhaler along with a small bag of pellucid. “I’ll bring the other boxes down later… ”

Little Rock was the Lower Manehatten griffon district, although very few griffons actually lived there. Many of the streets were nothing but shops and restaurants hawking “authentic” griffon goods and foods. And many of these were nothing but fronts for the griffon clan running much of Upper Manehatten.

Steady reminded himself of this as he stepped off the tour bus. It was easy to forget how much of the city was out of royal guard control when the streets were bustling with happy, oblivious ponies.

The stallion waved goodbye to his sister and started down the street. He was still a block from his destination so he tried to enjoy the walk. Still, his job had put a permanent voice in the back of his head that commented on everything he saw.

Check his permit. Illegal vehicle stop. That kid looks shady.

“Come on, I’m on lunch,” Steady chuckled to himself. He took an oath to maintain peace in the city in the name of the princess, but he never knew how his outlook on the world would change. His friends said he was just paranoid. His superiors said he was one of the best guards they’d ever seen.

A corner restaurant named Avilash was his destination. Its name was displayed in gold letters set into the stone building. They would have shined if more than patches of sunlight could make it through Upper Manehatten.

“Steady!” a middle-aged, white unicorn with blond mane in a royal guard uniform waved. He was seated outside the restaurant at an old looking table. “You took long enough! You take the subway?”

“On a beach day? Nah, I hitched a ride on the tour bus.” Steady bumped shoulders with the other stallion and sat across from him. “Still wondering why you wanted to meet so far from the base, Bright.”

Bright levitated his menu and tapped it on the table. “Is that any way to speak to your superior?”

“Chief Regulator Bright,” Steady corrected. “Why in Equestria did… ” The griffon waitress brought him a menu and glass of water before hurrying off. The pony started again, “What’s up, Chief?”

The older stallion set his menu down and looked over the first page within. “You’re always so serious. That’s why you haven’t been promoted, you know.”

“My boss likes serious.” Steady opened his own menu but barely looked at it. Griffon food is griffon food.

Chuckling, Bright pointed out, “And that’s why he hasn’t been promoted. You need to lighten up around your fellow guards like you are when you’re off duty.” The waitress returned. “Ah! Can I get the mushroom stew, please? Water is fine, thanks.”

“Snaggis, please,” Steady held his menu out to the waitress as he spoke. “And water is fine as well.” The griffon took their menus, Steady’s with a little more of a twist in her wrist, and walked away. He couldn’t help chuckle.

“When I was young, that kind of disrespect wouldn’t have been allowed.” Bright took a sip of his water before continuing. “Then again, no royal guard would have dared eat in Little Rock in the first place.”

Shrugging his shoulders, Steady said, “They’re not going to do anything.”

“Just because they don’t doesn’t mean they can’t.”

A group of teenage griffons shoving and hollering at one another walked by the restaurant. One elbowed another and pointed out the guards. The group quieted as they passed, avoiding the officers eyes. Steady heard them resume down the street.

“Did you bring me here for a history lesson and to tell me I’m never getting promoted?” he asked Bright.

“No, actually, but you younger guards do sometimes need a ‘history lesson’.” The unicorn pointed his horn at a griffon standing inside the restaurant. His unstained formal attire indicated his status above the waitresses bustling about. “See him? I knew him back when the sun would touch a body before these streets every morning. He helped change that, and that’s why we can eat here right now without worrying about a claw in the back.”

Steady stared at the pointed out griffon. “I’d heard rumors about informants and clan traitors quietly rising up.”

“And rumors are all they’re going to stay, got it?”

“Who’s being serious now?”

“Ha!” Bright barked out a laugh. “You’re right. I wouldn’t have told you if I didn’t trust you. And I do trust you, Steady. You’re a good kid.” The waitress came by again and refilled their drinks.

Steady noticed Bright’s eyes lingering on her as she walked away. A grin spread across the younger stallion’s face. “I think I’m starting to see why you chose this place.”

Without missing a beat, Bright said, “The mushroom stew is the best in Little Rock.” He took a large sip of water and cleared his throat. “Alright, before our food comes and distracts us any longer, I’ll tell you what’s going on. You know about the red cloaks?”

Steady shrugged. “There have been reports of a group of ponies in red cloaks gathering in the middle of the night, usually in the Upper and Lower East Sides. That’s all I know.”

“Good, that’s all anyone your rank should know.” He ran a hoof through his blond mane. “From what we can gather, it looks like this group is stockpiling weapons on the east side of Lower Manehatten.”

“What?” Steady realized he had yelled and attempted to cover it up with a cough to attract as little attention as possible. “Why aren’t we raiding houses right now?”

“Because we don’t know where they are, how many members they have, or the scope of their arsenal yet.” Bright’s nonchalant tone made Steady more curious than worried. “We’ve been trying to track them for weeks but they always seem to just disappear.”

“Should… should we inform the princesses?” Contacting the princesses was always a last resort even though they were always happy to help. Steady figured that even princesses could get bored cooped up in their castle all day.

“Normally I would have by now. But with the meteor coming down in two days, the princesses have their hooves full.” The older stallion sighed and stirred his water idly in the air.

“So… again, why aren’t we kicking in doors? We have the ponies for it.”

“And how would that look: royal guard invading the lowest of Lower Manehatten?” Bright grimaced at his own words. “We’ve increased patrols of those areas, but we can’t do anything until the princesses are free.”

The two stallions were quiet for a moment.

“Now that you’re up to speed,” Bright said, “I want to inform you of another problem we’re having: retirements. Many older guards are leaving the force at the moment and leaving their positions open.”

Steady was still trying to digest the previous news. “What does that have to do with me?”

The waitress came by again and placed their food on the table. “Guess I tend to ramble,” sighed Bright. “Steady, I’m promoting you. You’ll be reporting to me from now on.” He levitated the spoon provided by the waitress and took a sip of his stew.

The food in front of Steady smelled great but his appetite was gone. If they’re promoting while this red coat scare is going on, they must expect something to happen…

“Hey!” Steady looked up from his food to see Bright trying to get his attention. “You’d better head back to headquarters and move on over to your new area. I’ll have the waitress bring you a box.”

“Sure… ” The younger stallion kept his misgivings to himself. Equestria calls, and I answer.

High above Lower Manehatten floated an equally bustling city of clouds: Upper Manehatten. Founded a short time after the island city, Upper Manehatten was the primary home of the city’s pegasus and griffon population. The two races, however, lived together only in the sense that they made their homes in the clouds.

The pegasus ponies controlled the west side while the griffons controlled the east, with a gap between them over Central Park. Conflicts often arose between the two races whenever one strayed into the other’s territory; however these amounted to little more than scrapes.

Both sides were content to let the other live peacefully as long as neither made any big moves. And while they silently watched one another, Upper Manehatten had grown a sizable tourist crowd. The sky casinos and floating amusement parks on either side built as fronts brought in enough money that neither of the two wanted to jeopardize it.

And though loud gang violence gave way to quieter, shady business practices, the past aggression felt by the sky dwellers still burned inside.

“B-but the sign says-”

A yellow claw grabbed the light blue pegasus pony by the neck. Her voice was cut off with her breath. She struggled and tried to call out. No pony or griffon stopped to help her.

“I don’t care what the sign says, pony.” Gulla lifted the pony up to her face. Behind her, the neon lights of the casino blinked on, casting the griffon in deeper shadow as the sun set. “We’re closed.”

“Mama!” the filly beside the pony cried out and tried to reach for her mother. Gulla’s lion tail flicked the filly across the face, knocking her down. Bits of cloud trailed up where she fell.

“Take your kid and get lost.” The griffon tossed the pony away like she was weighed nothing. A line of dissipating cloud marked where the pony slid before coming to a stop. The clouds beneath them were so thick that Gulla thought she could toss dozens of ponies before breaking through it. That image made her smile.

Coughing, the pegasus scooped up her child and scurried off. Gulla picked the inside of her beak with a claw, watching the pony until she turned the corner of a cloud building.

Two muscular, feathery arms wrapped around Gulla’s neck from behind. The griffon tensed up, claws reaching for the invading limbs before stopping. “That doesn’t look good when you do it so out in the open, Gulla.”

Gulla closed her hazel eyes. “Forgive me, Mother.” She said quietly. Her right claw shook. Again, those walking by seemed to notice the two griffons but not acknowledge them.

Ulfied the Clan Mother, the most powerful griffon in all Manehatten, towered a head and a half over her underling. It was said her height was due to mixed heritage of giant and griffon. Her brown lower half was darker in color than most, and her white feathers were spotted with black. The griffon’s most terrifying trait was not her size or appearance, but the way she seemed to move with absolute silence. When angered, however, her rage could shake the heavens.

The Clan Mother’s claw rose and caressed Gulla’s cheek. “I do not repeat myself.” She snapped at the smaller griffon’s feathers, yanking out a beakfull. Gulla clacked her beak in pain. Ulfied spat the feathers out onto Gulla and pushed her away.

Fearing her punishment was unfinished, Gulla laid completely still.

Ulfied was already walking back into the casino.

The Star’s Reach, the largest casino in Upper Manehatten, took up almost a third of the griffon clan’s territory. With a two floor gambling area and rooms above and below it, the casino saw use at all hours of the day. Nearly every member of the clan had previously or was currently working within the casino. Completing and keeping one’s job was seen as a rite of passage for rising clan members.

The Clan Mother regarded her casino as she entered. The first floor was a gambler’s paradise of cloud machines and tables. Griffon waitresses delivered drinks to betters so they never had to leave their spots, throwing more money at the house than they ever would on a drink. Above them floated the second “floor”: floating cloud islands connected by thin walkways of even more cloud. The ceiling was painted to permanently show a dark sky filled with twinkling stars.

With the constantly roaming guards ready to kick anyone out in an instant, order was kept and patrons stayed content. And best of all, thought Ulfied, I stay rich.

She was about to duck through an “employee only” door to circumvent the crowded casino floor when a male griffon approached her. “Clan Mother,” he acknowledged her and tilted his head.

Ulfied knew very few male up-and-comers by name, but she remembered that this one was reliable for sending messages quickly. Though it would have been easier to call her mobile phone, sending runners like this built up trust within the clan. “Speak.”

The male lifted his head, eyes never meeting hers. “The royal guard, Sidereal, is waiting for you in your office.” Ulfied’s wings twitched with sudden agitation. Ponies and griffons nearby tensed up. Realizing he had delivered unwanted news, the male took an involuntary step back.

However, the Clan Mother kept her anger in check. “Take the rest of the week off,” she said to the male. What she meant was inside her head, stay out of my sight or I’m going to rip your wings off.

He took the hint and quickly rushed out of the casino.

The batpony tried to sit comfortably on the clearly made-for-griffons chair while she waited. She couldn’t stretch her wings because the arm rests were too tall, and sitting on her rump left her back legs dangling comically from the seat. Her final choice was to rest on her stomach in the massive chair. The saddlebags she carried weighed her down into the plush.

As if the chair wasn’t insulting enough to her, the office around her was overflowing with griffon pride. Posters stuck to the cloud walls depicted griffons constructing Upper Manehatten alone. Awards behind the desk congratulated Clan Mother after Clan Mother for their bravery in the face of adversity. The desk itself was covered in small trophies made of crystal and etched with gold. There was a feeling of immense pressure seeping from every object demanding anyone who entered to have a good reason for being there.

But the batpony found herself yawning. It was early for her to be awake. A majority of her kind waited until the sun was nearly set before they opened their eyes completely. The chair, the room, and the hour compounded together, and the pony found her mood as dark as her fur.

There was a wisp of wind behind her as the door opened. Ulfied walked into the office and around the chair the pony laid in with two other griffons entering to stand to either side of the door. “Sidereal, you’re up early. Catching a show before your nightly skulking?” the griffon said half mockingly as she sat.

Before she even finished, Sidereal reached into her saddlebags and tossed two pony shoes onto the griffon’s desk. They were bright blue and made to cover the wearer’s entire hoof. “What the fuck are these?”

Ulfied kept her eyes locked onto Sidereal’s. “Leave us.” The griffons who entered hastily exited and closed the door behind them. “You know better than to act this way in front of my clan,” she said matter-of-factly.

“I’m not in the mood for games, Ulfied.” The batpony pointed to the shoes with an extended hoof. “I scraped those off the pavement of Lower Manehatten yesterday night. It was the second earth pony stain on the ground to be wearing these garbage cloud shoes.” She raised her hoof towards the griffon. “The ones your clan sells.”

“My clan doesn’t sell trash like this.” Ulfied used a single digit on her claw to turn one of the shoes onto its side. There, as clear as day, was the symbol of her clan stitched into the side of the shoe. Someone’s been taking shortcuts.

Sidereal bared her fangs. “Someone did.” She stood and hopped off the chair to the floor. “Get your clan under control or the next time you need a permit renewal on this dump you’ll have to go through me.”

Unable to take the continued insults, Ulfied stood so quickly her chair tumbled backwards into the wall. A few of the awards hanging there fell. “If my clan stood before us and you spoke as such-”

“Save the theatrics for them,” said the pony, bat wings unfurling slightly. “I’m sure you have some griffons to punish, so I’ll leave you to it.” She turned towards the door.

Ulfied couldn’t stop herself from one last remark. “Do not forget who holds ‘the spear’.”

Sidereal turned her head slightly till only one eye was looking at the griffon. “Threaten me, and you threaten the star watchers. You can’t hide behind your spear forever.”

With that, Sidereal pushed the door to the office open and walked out without closing it. The Clan Mother screamed at her underlings to close the door before proceeding to destroy the office from the inside.

Steady’s new office was located on the tenth floor of the royal guard compound’s main building. Personal offices lined two walls of the floor, while the center was devoted to open work stations. The windows lining the two remaining walls showed Lower Manehatten lit up in the night on one side and Equestria on the other.

His old office had been similar, if smaller and closer to the ground, so the lack of privacy was nothing new. What struck him was the lack of ponies rushing around. He was the only one there. In fact, most of the workstations appeared to be cleaned out. Steady dropped his saddlebags beside one of the empty stations and started to unpack his things.

The bell above the elevator rang out. A pony stepped out and whistled, saying in a male voice, “I knew this was a step up but by Tartarus what a view.”

Steady turned towards the newcomer. It was a brown pegasus with short black mane wearing flashy red and yellow saddlebags. He had trotted over to the windows looking out onto the city. Raising a hoof, Steady called out, “Hey!”

“Hey, hey!” the pegasus turned his head. “Thought this big office was all mine.”

Steady trotted over. “Oh? Thought they taught us to share at the academy.” He lifted his front leg, hoof extended. “I’m Steady.”

The pegasus smiled and bumped hooves with Steady. “I must have been playing hooky that day. Laund Ray, but just call me Ray.” Ray looked back out onto the city. “Never thought I’d have an office with a view like this.”

“Laund Ray… ” Steady repeated under his breath. That name sounds familiar…

Ray interrupted Steady’s thoughts. “You figure out where you know me from yet?” The unicorn still looked confused so Ray continued. “I was all over the news for about a week because-”

“You kicked the shit out of a batpony.”

Both stallions at the window turned towards the new voice. An earth pony with grayish gold fur and dark red mane was standing next to the stairs. She eyed the stallions while they eyed her and her burlap saddlebags.

“I was going to say because the media knows how to twist a story,” Ray finished from before. “You are?”

“Amaranthine.” The earth pony walked to one of the center work stations and dropped her bags to the floor. “You two are Laund Ray and Steady, both promoted to this unit within the last few days.” She looked over her shoulder at Ray. “I didn’t know they promoted racists.”

“That pony had it coming,” the pegasus said, taking a step towards the mare. “He and his buddies were harassing some poor griffon. If I hadn’t stopped them-”

“And did you tell them you were a royal guard before you stepped in?”

Ray gnashed his teeth and looked down; as if this wasn’t the first time someone had used this argument against him. “No.”

Amaranthine started unpacking her things. In-between mouthfuls of objects, she said, “And that’s why you were tucked away into a dark corner of the compound.”

“If you know all that already, why did you fuckin’ ask,” Ray stomped to the nearest workstation and tossed his saddlebags onto it with his wings.

“Because Steady didn’t know the whole truth, did you?” The earth pony looked to Steady.

The unicorn looked from Ray to Amaranthine. “What departments are you both from?”

“Star Watcher Relations,” Ray said before Amaranthine could speak. “They thought it would look good to the press. Been twiddling my hooves down there for a year.”

Both stallions turned to the mare. She was putting file after file on her desk. Steady cleared his throat. With a sigh, she said, “Internal affairs.”

Ray let out a laugh. “So that’s why you think you know everything about everything, huh?” He lifted his saddlebag from the end and dumped his belongings carelessly onto his desk.

“It doesn’t take a scientist to watch the news,” the earth pony huffed.

“Relax you two.” Steady moved his saddlebag to a desk between the two other ponies. “If we’re going to work together we might as well get along.” He went to move the rest of his things but stopped. “Do either of you know what unit this even is?”

Ray looked up from his desk. “I was about to ask you the same. Do you know, snitchy?”

“No, racist, I don’t.” Amaranthine sat to get to the cabinet attached to her desk. “All I know is our new boss, Bright, is supposed to be the head of traffic regulations.”

“That hardly seems like the kinda thing you need ponies from a bunch of different departments to do.” The pegasus slid his saddlebags off his desk to make room. “Where did you come from anyways, Steady?”

“Patrol,” Steady answered. “In any case, we’ll find out tomorrow morning. I’m calling it a night.” As he started towards the elevator, he looked back and said, “Try not to kill each other!”

A small cockatrice clock on the mantle began to cluck. Shadows on the painting covered wall behind it bent and shifted. The fireplace burnt low, but enough for the single stallion within the room to see the cockatrice peeking out from the clock. He knew it would cluck for some time. Midnight had come.

Two large, glass double doors stood open, letting in the cool night air. White curtains gently billowed inwards from the breeze. Bright stirred his levitating drink in the air, the ice cubes within tinkling against the glass. The cockatrice clucked. The stallion stared into the fire.

He could see much of the city from his high-rise apartment in West Village, but the night had swallowed up many of the sights. If he stood out on his balcony he could sometimes make out the dark shapes swooping silently through the night. When the royal guard rests, the star watchers rise.

The cockatrice clucked for the final time and retreated into its wooden home.

“I thought all royal guards had a bedtime.”

Bright turned from the fire to the open doors behind him. The silhouette of a batpony stood inside the doorway. “And I thought all star watchers were supposed to stay in Upper Manehatten during the day.”

“There’s no rule against us coming and going as we please, like any other pony.” Sidereal walked further into the room, the firelight illuminating her features.

The unicorn took a sip of his drink before floating it to the side table beside his chair. “There is, however, a rule against you conducting guard duties during the day, as you have twice in the past week.” He saw the batpony flinch. “You think I don’t see everything you do, Sidal?”

“I didn’t know a traffic regulator was so well connected.”

A white hoof rose to rub one of Bright’s eyes. “Let’s cut out the minotaur shit. It’s late and I need to give a briefing in the morning.”

Sidereal moved deeper into the room and sat on a darkly colored cushioned pillow set beside the fire. “I had to clean up Ulfied’s mess, but it won’t happen again.” She lifted a dark hoof and nudged a metal poker laying half in the fire into a smoldering log. It crackled and broke in half. “The griffons are just acting out a little. It’s none of your concern.”

“It’s my concern when I have to tell ponies it isn’t their concern.” The drink on the table glowed softly and lifted again.

Sidereal said under her breath, “Lying was always your specialty.”

“As was trying to do things under my nose yours,” Bright quietly retorted.

The mare and stallion watched the light from the fire continue to die in sudden silence. A pop from an unbroken log was followed by the top half of it collapsing inwards. Sidereal nudged the metal poker again, this time a bit more forcefully. It jabbed through the previously broken log completely.

There is nothing to be said that hasn’t been said before.

“Why are you up so late, anyways?” Sidereal asked. “What was wrong with meeting at sunset?”

“Nothing, I’m just waiting for a call and since we had to meet here… ” Bright hesitated.

The batpony looked over at him. “What?”

“… Nothing.”

“… Alright.”

They sat in silence a few moments longer, both turning back to the fire.

“If it’s settled, then there’s nothing else.” Bright drained the rest of his drink in one swallow.

Sidereal turned her gaze from the embers to Bright. “Are you going to tell ponies the truth tomorrow?”

“Some of it. No pony needs to know the full truth. Not yet.”

“’Traffic regulator’,” the batpony laughed softly.

“Chief traffic regulator. Never half lie about something; that’s how you get caught.”

“You don’t have to tell me… ” Sidereal stood. “Are we done here?”

Bright slid off his chair to his hooves. “Yeah, we’re done. Come back again tomorrow night, same time. I’ll have everything in motion by then.”

The batpony nodded and started walking to the open double doors. The unicorn stayed where he stood, eyes watching the fire. “Wait.” Sidereal stopped and looked back at him. “If you want to stay… a bit longer… ”

An awkward half-smile was all Sidereal could manage. “You know it wouldn’t be for just a bit. I’ll see you tomorrow, Brighty, in your new office.”

“Yeah… see you, Sidal.”

He didn’t turn from the fire or hear her take flight, but he knew she was gone. Bright inhaled deeply and let out a long sigh. Normally, he met with Sidereal in his office, but with his station changing his new office would most likely still have his promoted officer buzzing around. The stallion knew it had been a mistake to ask the batpony to his apartment.

Too much temptation…

Magic candles lined two of the large chamber’s walls. Mares and stallions in red cloaks stood side by side in personal discussion. Roots stuck out from the earthen ceiling above them. The door at the top of the stairs at the far end behind them opened and another cloaked pony entered.

“You’re late, Graphite,” a mare’s voice chided him from the bottom of the stairs. Her features were lost in the shadows of her hooded cloak.

“Better to be safe than rush, Quick Fix,” the stallion replied. He walked deeper into the room, the mare following beside him.

The mare shook her head. “I’m not sure that’s how the saying goes.”

The two of them melded into the crowd and continued their conversation. More ponies slowly entered the rooms, pairing up before joining the crowd. Set up against the opposite wall of the underground chamber was a raised stage where several ponies in gold trimmed red cloaks were speaking to one another. Some ponies seemed tired due to the late hour but none were sitting. An electric feeling was running through them all.

This was the first time they had all been gathered together in one place.

A unicorn entered the chamber with his hood down and surveyed the crowd. His wavy, sky blue mane was offset by his red fur. Of the dozens gathered there, he was the only one with his hood lowered. He walked forward and the crowd parted for him, quieting as they noticed him.

Red magic engulfed him a moment before he teleported onto the stage in a flash. He turned around and faced the hooded ponies before him. “Red cloaks,” he spoke with conviction, “the time will soon be upon us when the tyranny of the princesses at last comes to an end!”

The crowd stomped their feet in applause. Dust from the ceiling fell but no pony seemed to mind.

“We have risked much in our planning, and we risk more gathering here tonight,” he continued from the stage, his voice echoing throughout the chamber. “However, it was necessary, as all things we do are necessary to free Equestria.” The stallion paused a moment, eyes staring into the shadows of the cloaks listening to him. “In the coming days, many lives will be sacrificed. Ours and innocents. Most will fall without knowing the reason for which their lives have ended, but know that it is never without cause.”

Shouts from those assembled echoed forward. “Celestia be damned!” “The alicorns must fall!” “Freedom for Equestria!”

“All of you have been wronged by the princesses, but especially by Celestia, who has ruled these lands for far too long!” The stallion’s words charged the crowd up further. “Within days, when she ascends to the sky to break the meteor falling from the heavens, she will perish!”

A new feeling washed over the crowd: shock. Yes, my children, the time has come, the unicorn thought. “And when she falls, so too will her sister! From their ashes, a new, free Equestria will rise, led by not a weak willed princess, but a queen!” His horn glowed brightly. Behind him, red banners with gold trim appeared along the wall. In their centers was stitched a brighter red circle with orange lines running to its center, where a smaller orange circle was stitched. “Behold the banners of the red queen, Sucre Flourish!”

The ripples running through the crowd ranged from shock to disbelief now. This was the first anypony low ranking in the red cloaks had heard of this.

“Red cloaks,” the stallion on stage spoke in a softer tone, “I know you are fearful of a new ruler taking the place of the old one. But fear not: the red queen does not wish to rule forever. When her life comes to an end, as is natural for all beings, the ponies of Equestria will appoint a new ruler. They will serve at the will of the ponies, not the other way around.”

“Insanity!” a pony at the front of the crowd screamed. “I didn’t sign up for this just to be under another pony’s hoof again!”

Before anypony else could chime in, a red glow lifted the speaker into the air, slamming him into the ceiling. His cry of pain was cut off as the glow crashed him down to the ground a moment later.

“A spy, from the royal guard,” explained the stallion on stage. “I had hoped my words would reach him, as they no doubt have reached the rest of you.” No pony else stepped forward to challenge him. “Know that, regardless of any mixed feelings you may have, the princesses will die and the red queen will rise. And we red cloaks will follow her into Tartarus itself if that is her will.”

The gazes of the crowd moved from the broken body of the challenger to their unicorn leader and back.

“My final orders to you before our work begins are this: do not go near your stockpiles again until the signal is given. When we take this city for the queen, we will be swift and precise.” He waved his leg out. “Go now and prepare yourselves physically and mentally for the challenges ahead!”

The ponies assembled moved to exit, but they were somewhat slower than before. The electric feeling, however, still lingered.

With a smile, the stallion watched them go. It won’t be long now, my love.

One day before meteor…

Though clouds came in only shades of gray naturally, unicorn magic and special practices helped bring color to the homes of the griffon neighborhood floating above Turtle Bay. Many clan members made their nests in more conventional four walled homes as opposed to outdoors.

This allowed Ulfied to feel an extra ounce of satisfaction as she kicked in the door to a cloud home as the sun was just cresting the ocean behind her. Half-asleep griffons cried out and reached for their weapons to fight off the shadowed figure before them. Ulfied raised the spear in her claws, displaying the electricity crackling along its length. Her underlings realized who was before them and calmed before true understanding hit.

“We did not want to betray you, Clan Mother!” one pleaded. “Please, we had no choice!”

The electricity along the spear intensified. Sparks lit her features for brief moments. Ulfied showed no mercy in her eyes. She lowered her spear and called upon its power.

Electricity arced from the clouds around the griffons into them. Their bodies convulsed, frying, charring. The smell always made those around Ulfied gag but she relished it. This was the power of the Clan Mother passed down through the years.

This was Leiknir, the lightning spear, one of the most powerful magic weapons in Equestria.

In the cloud city of Upper Manehatten, Leiknir’s power was multiplied exponentially. The griffon clan would have completely wiped out the pegasus ponies and any other from the sky if the royal guard and star watchers weren’t around to keep them in check. Still, the power of the spear had allowed them to carve out a piece of the pie larger than the other races living above Lower Manehatten.

When Ulfied had sufficiently vented her anger, she ceased the lighting magic. She always wondered after using the spear if this is what unicorn’s felt all the time. Godlike. The Clan Mother turned from the corpses and walked out of the home.

“Clean it up,” she told the griffons standing outside the door. They bowed silently before entering the home. No other griffons had come with her.

I need no one else when I wield the spear.

Flying low over the Upper East Side homes, royal guard armor shining in the morning sun, several pegasus ponies scanned the ground and skies. Gilda watched them through the kitchen window from her modest apartment. The building she was in was set on a hill overlooking the rest of the area.

A yawn behind her told her Signy was up. “Coffee better be brewing.”

Gilda pointed a claw at the coffee machine without turning from the window. “Brewed and ready to serve.”

Signy wrapped her arms around Gilda’s neck from behind. “I hope coffee isn’t what took you from me so early.”

“Have you noticed more royal guards around here lately?” The griffon scanned the rooftops, finding a few more patrols.

“Let me see.” Signy wiggled herself closer against her companion. Her cheek rubbed against Gilda’s as she looked out the window as well. “Huh, maybe.”

“I wonder if something’s going on… ” Gilda was cut off by a peck on the cheek by Signy.

“Whatever it is, it doesn’t have to do with us.” The blue spotted griffon smiled and released Gilda from her embrace. “You’d better have some of this before I drink it all!” she teased.

Reluctantly, Gilda turned from the window.

His cup of coffee levitating next to him, Steady stood waiting for the elevator to reach his floor. He had told himself he would never become addicted to coffee but the early hours of his job demanded made it a necessity. “No pony else is even here yet, I bet,” he complained to the empty elevator.

The machine chimed and the doors opened a moment later to reveal how wrong he was. The previously empty office he had moved his things into yesterday was bustling with activity. Mares and stallions of every race except bat were setting up at every station available, many wearing royal guard armor. He noted Amaranthine and Ray were missing.

A green earth pony mare rushed over to him, shoved some paperwork against him, and rushed off. He caught the falling paper with his magic before it hit the floor. “What is all this…?”

“Confidentiality agreements,” Bright responded, standing in the doorway of one of the outer wall offices. “Anything that happens inside these four walls never leaves.”

Steady scanned the documents as he walked over to his superior. “Don’t our original contracts already cover this?” A royal guard was sworn to never discuss matters of Equestrian security with the public. Still, situations like the one yesterday, where Bright had discussed delicate matters with Steady in the open, happened all too often.

“I’ll explain in a moment.” Bright stepped fully out of his office and started walking straight through the room. “Attention, everypony,” he said loudly. “Meeting in the conference room in five minutes.” Everypony began looking around the large office. “It’s over here,” Bright said with a sigh, waving a hoof by a door.

Steady walked to his desk to sign the confidentiality papers while he waited. The ponies along the way greeted him and introduced themselves. “Hey, I’m Peppermint Crunch.” “Nice to meet you, I’m Sea Swirl.” “Name’s Cloudy Haze, how’s it going?” “Morning, Bushels the name.” Several more ponies acknowledged him with nods or waves before he made it to his desk. He set the papers down to read them.

A few minutes later, Laund Ray sat next to him with his own papers. His mane was a mess and he smelled like he hasn’t put enough cologne on. Steady took a moment from reading to look him over. “Geeze, what happened to you last night?”

“Whatcha mean? Nothing happened last night.” Ray ran a hoof through his mane nervously. “What’s with all the paperwork?”

The unicorn raised an eyebrow but didn’t press. “It’s new confidentiality agreements. I’ve looked them over and the only thing new about them is the punishment.” Steady pointed to a line on the last page of the documents.

“’Terrorists’?” Ray read aloud. “That’s a word you don’t hear often.”

“Almost as often as racist,” Amaranthine said from her desk beside Steady. Steady jumped at her sudden appearance. Ray acted like she had been there the whole time, giving her an upraise hoof in response to her comment.

Steady couldn’t help but notice that the mare also looked like she had a rough night. She smelled strangely like Ray’s cologne.

A banging turned everypony’s head. Bright kicked the wall again to make sure they were all paying attention. “Time’s up, come on!” He turned and walked through the doorway he had been standing beside. Everypony moved to follow.

Inside the meeting room were four rows of cushioned pillow seats set before a large flat screen monitor. To either side of the screen were empty tack/white board combos. The windows had been completely covered up by two sets of curtains. Once everypony was inside, the green mare that had handed Steady his paperwork closed the door.

“Take a seat.” Bright stood beside the flat screen. “Some of you know me, but for those who don’t: my name is Bright. I’m sure you’re all wondering why you were suddenly promoted. Would anypony care to venture a guess?”

Amaranthine called out from beside Steady, “Is it due to the red cloaks, sir?”

The white unicorn nodded, looking pleased. “As expected of you, Amaranthine.” He waved a hoof towards the back of the room. The monitor behind him turned on; displaying a symbol no pony there had ever seen before. “This, mares and gentle colts, is the symbol of the red cloaks.”

“Excuse me!” a stallion seated at the front said jokingly. “Aren’t the red cloaks just a rumor?”

Smiling, Bright nodded again. “That’s certainly what we wanted ponies to think. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The red cloaks are real, and we believe they are preparing for some kind of terrorist attack on Manehatten.”

“Lower or Upper?” Ray asked offhandedly. Steady nudged him in the ribs but Bright had already heard the remark.

The unicorn’s smile was gone. “Does it matter?” he asked loudly. The ponies assembled seemed to snap to attention reactively. Bright looked them over. “I hoof picked every single one of you because not only are you good at what you do, and not only are you loyal to our princesses, but because you love this city. Am I wrong?”

“No, sir!” they said in unison.

“This threat,” Bright banged his hoof against the monitor, “is real! And we will face it, together, for all of Manehatten! Is that understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Good!” He took a deep breath before continuing. “Now, then, let’s start by introducing everypony. Steady, come on up.”

The early afternoon sun had difficulty piercing Upper Manehatten on most days. Still, shafts of light were let through the floating city to Lower Manehatten, giving it an almost heavenly appearance.

Blue mane brushed straight, unlike its normally wavy appearance, the unicorn leader of the red cloaks sat on a cloud, his gaze on the city around him. He floated just below Upper Manehatten but above the royal guard patrols. On his hooves were the knockoff cloud shoes he had forced the griffons to make. They glowed red faintly, reinforced by his magic.

As he looked onto the cities radiance, he thought, it pales compared to her.

The cloud above him parted and a yellow earth stallion poked his head through. “Sir, Trim is requesting a word.”

The unicorn nodded once. The stallion disappeared back into the cloud. A moment later, a blue pegasus stallion came through the hole and landed lightly beside the unicorn. “Sir,” he said with a bow.

“Speak, Trim,” said the unicorn, not turning from the sight of the city.

Trim raised his head. “Forgive the intrusion, sir, but I wish to express misgivings on the way our plan was revealed last night. I do not believe it was the right time.”

At this, the unicorn did turn from the city. “You believe the recruits did not take it well?”

“I believe we should have held off on announcing the entirety of our plans.”

“Until when, exactly?” The unicorn’s mane blew across his face but he made no move to part it. “Until the princesses were dead? Until the citizens rebelled? Until the royal guards attempted to take control of the city?” Trim winced. “It is better they learn to live with the fear of tomorrow today and not when the sky is falling around them.”

“That is… ”

The earth stallion poked his head through the clouds once again. “Sir, forgive the interruption, but there is a messenger here with urgent news.” A red hoof motioning forward from the unicorn indicated acknowledgment, and a moment later another pegasus dropped down to the cloud. His light blue fur offset his blond mane.

The newcomer bowed before speaking. “Sir, yesterday it was reported that a royal guard was speaking freely about us.”

Both Trim and the unicorn’s ears bricked up. “Who?” demanded the unicorn.

“A unicorn named Bright.” The pegasus looked excited to be of use. “Strangely, the only information we could dig up on him was that he is the Chief of Traffic Regulations.”

“Bright?” The unicorn started laughing softly. “Traffic Regulations would certainly be a good cover… he could roam the city as he pleased, directing other guards and sitting in on meetings between officers… ”

“Sir?” Trim and the pegasus now both looked confused.

“I’ll discuss it with you later, Trim. For now, let’s go back to our previous discussion.” He turned to the blond maned pegasus. “You were at the meeting last night, were you not?”

“Ah, of course I was, sir!” the pegasus said proudly. “I was unable to meet with you then to tell you of Bright.”

The unicorn simply waved away the pegasus’ concerns. “It’s alright. He was just fishing for a reaction from around him, no doubt. There’s little anypony can do to stop us now.” He looked the pegasus in the eyes. “I want to know how you feel after learning the extent of our plans.”

The pegasus looked from Trim to the unicorn, unsure.

“You may speak freely, here,” the unicorn assured him.

After taking a moment to consider it, the pegasus spoke. “I… I’m not sure what to think. I do not wish for Celestia or Luna to rule any longer, but if somepony else simply rises to take their place… ”

“The red queen is not ‘simply somepony’,” frowned the unicorn. “I see now I should have shown you all what you are fighting for. Bow your head.” With a worried expression, the pegasus bowed. The unicorn leaned forward until his horn was touching the pegasus’ forehead. “Gaze upon your queen.”

A memory bloomed inside the mind of the pegasus. Standing before her banner stood what he could only assume was the red queen: an earth pony with pale fur and fiery red, flowing mane. Light radiated from behind her, giving her an almost angelic aura.

The unicorn pulled away as soon as the memory was transferred. He watched as the pegasus gasped and his eyes filled with tears. “She’s beautiful… ”

“She is. Now go and tell any red cloaks you cross what you have seen.”

“I shall, sir!” With that, the pegasus leapt up though the cloud overhead and was gone.

For a few moments the two stallions sat in silence. Finally, Trim asked, “Do you think that will be enough?”

“Honestly, Trim, if even half of the red cloaks follow-through with the plan, they will be more than enough. We need only keep the city in chaos until the red queen and her army arrives.”

They continued to stare out onto the city below them. The red unicorn imagined the city would look very different when he was done with it.

“Who is this Bright?” Trim asked.

The unicorn couldn’t contain his chuckle. “Traffic Regulations… Bright is more than likely putting together a plan to stop us without realizing he’s kept to the shadows too long.” He raised his hoof. “He is one of the most powerful ponies in this city: a hoof of Princess Celestia herself.”

“Now that we all know one another,” Bright announced as Ray sat down from introducing himself, “I’ll officially explain why we are here.” The monitor beside him changed from the screen saver back to the red cloak’s symbol. “The red cloaks have been classified as a threat to Equestria unlike any we have dealt with in many years. As such, a task force has been assembled to root them out and combat them... you.”

Steady gulped. This was beyond the scope of what he had originally imagined. Those around him also shifted nervously, suddenly realizing the weight being placed on their shoulders.

“I understand your nervousness, but it will pass.” Scanning the room, Bright seemed to reassure a few ponies with his gaze. “Do not focus on the pressure being placed on you, only on your task.” The image on the monitor changed again to show a red unicorn stallion with wavy blue mane. “This is Arc, leader of the red cloaks. The goal of this department is to find him and capture him.”

“Sir!” Steady called out. Bright nodded for him to continue. “What department are we?”

Smiling proudly, Bright answered, “The A.T.D: Anti-Terrorist Department.”

Armod’s eyes shot open. For a moment he forgot where he was and panicked. The smell of pellucid beside him calmed him, reminding him he was in the basement still. The griffon reached for a slice of day old pizza from the night before and scarfed it down in a few bites.

After he had eaten, he brought the alchemist’s inhaler up. “One more, then I’ll bring the rest of them down,” he said groggily. He grabbed a match from his matchbox, noted it was the last one, and lit it. Holding the dwindling matchstick, the flame heated the drug through a hole on one end of the inhaler while he breathed in the smoke through the top. As had happened numerous times before, the flame eventually reached his claw. Armod swore and tossed the match away.

It landed near a pile of others close to the boxes he had been told to stay away from. For a brief instant the pile smoked, ready to ignite. But the flame died out before they could.

“I need more matches.”

Chapter Break - Shocker: Part Two and Three Abridged

Two months after meteor…

Hollow Shades, west of Manehatten Ruins…

The young unicorn pony lit the final candle on the chandelier with the floating matchstick. “Is that enough light, Father?” she asked the stallion sitting at the table beside her.

“Yes, thank you, dear.” Beard brushing against the table, the older unicorn stallion lifted his quill with magic and held it over the open book. “Please let Sidereal know we’re ready for her.”

With a nod, the young pony hurried to the door of the library and poked her head out. After a moment she stepped back to allow a dark furred batpony entrance. Sidereal, having done a similar interview yesterday night, sat opposite the older unicorn at the table.

He offered her refreshments, and like yesterday she requested only water.

“Now then,” the bearded unicorn tapped his pen gently on the blank page before him, “we were at the day of the meteor when we ended yesterday.” Sidereal nodded silently, taking a small sip of her drink. “Please, like before, tell me everything you experienced as it happened.”

Sidereal took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I was asleep when it happened. I knew Bright felt as if something was going to happen, but I thought he was being paranoid like usual. Even with all the signs I believed nothing was going to happen…”

“We, the A.T.D, were all gathered on our floor of the royal guard compound.” Steady closed his eyes a moment before continuing. “Bright had set up several monitors along the windows showing the event in Canterlot. There were three different news casters.”

“Steady,” said the unicorn across from him, “you don’t have to be so… formal.”

“Right, sorry,” Steady shook his head gently. “It was, um, crowded. Everypony was bunching up trying to get a better view of a screen. What Bright had said to us the previous day had us all wired. So when it happened… ” His hoof came up and rubbed the back of his neck. “He wasn’t even prepared for it. We saw Princess Celestia die from three different angles at once…”

Quick Fix covered her face with her hooves. “I didn’t know… none of us knew… ” A tear ran down her cheek. “I just wanted things to change… ”

“No one is blaming you for what happened,” the bearded unicorn said softly.

“I know, I… ” She sucked in a ragged breath and nodded. “I know. I’m sorry, it’s still hard to think about it… ”

“Did you know she had died right away?”

Steady shook his head at the older stallion’s question. “No pony really knew what was happening at first. There was this huge explosion… all three screens turned white. Two of the broadcasters just went silent. Everything seemed to go quiet for a moment.

“And then one of them just said it… ‘The princess is dead’.”

Licking his lips, Steady glanced down at the table. “Saying something like that is treason.” He closed his eyes and corrected himself. “Was treason. Now I suppose it’s just history.”

“I was woken up a few hours after.” The batpony closed her eyes. “Not because Princess Celestia had died, but because they were blaming Princess Luna.”

“They? The Red Queen’s army, you mean?”

“Yes. They used Princess Luna as a scapegoat. They said she killed her own sister!” Sidereal leaned forward. “It’s not true! The princess would never do something like that!”

“I understand, Sidereal,” the stallion assured her. “Please, continue.”

With a sigh, the batpony began again. “The star watcher’s compound was in complete disarray. We had pegasi and griffons banging on the doors. No pony knew the truth, everyone was just reacting. It was chaos.”

“That’s what he wanted: chaos, confusion.” Quick Fix rubbed her eyes.

“The leader of the red cloaks you mean? Arc?”

The pony nodded. “Not just him. The princess dying was like a switch for some ponies. It was like the city lost its mind.”

“You were a red cloak, weren’t you?” the stallion across from her questioned gently.

“I… my mother was very sick many years ago. Princess Celestia visited the city and I tried to speak with her, tried to get her to help in any way she could.” Quick Fix started to tear up again. “Her guards wouldn’t let me anywhere near her. Not even when I looked her right in the eyes…”

“I don’t think she deserved to die,” Steady stated flatly. “A lot of things were said about her, and she wasn’t perfect by any means, but she was a good ruler.”

“Tell me, what were your orders after you heard the princess had died?”

The unicorn let out a soft laugh. “Right after? None. Bright disappeared as soon as the words came out of the speakers. Everypony in the department just stood around staring at the screens. Canterlot appeared out of control. Two of the camera feeds went dead, leaving the one that kept saying the princess had died.” Steady enveloped the cup of water in front of him with magic and lifted it towards him. “They were controlling the whole thing, I’m sure of it.”

“The red cloaks?”

Steady nodded and drank. “It was hours before real orders came down, and by then they were obvious from just looking out the window: quell Lower Manehatten.”

Sidereal pointed to an area on the map laid out on the table. “West Village, the Financial District, and the Royal Guard District all started rioting at the same time. They must have planned it.” She sat back in her seat.

“What makes you say that?”

“Because Bright had told me beforehand that they thought their headquarters was somewhere in the Upper East Side. They started the riots on the other side of the city to test the royal guard’s response.” Sidereal stared daggers at the map. “If Bright hadn’t been such a mule about his secrets... ”

“We suppressed the rioters as best we could. It wasn’t as large as we first thought so our response was somewhat… overblown. There were guards swarming the streets.” Steady took another drink from his glass. “Thinking back on it, Bright might have had the response prepared.”

“It sounds like he knew a lot about what was happening.”

“He did and he didn’t,” Steady responded quickly. “He knew something was going to happen but not what happened to the princesses. His preparation saved a lot of lives, except his.”

“He died soon after the meteor fell?”

“No, not till the end.” His hooves rubbed together. “He went down with the city. I don’t think he wanted to live in a world without the princess.”

“I see.” Quill writing quickly, the stallion said, “And what happened after the riots were suppressed?”

“Right. Like I was saying before, the riots stopped within an hour of our response. But that was just Lower Manehatten. Upper Manehatten was a different story… ”

“I’m loath to say this, but if it hadn’t been for the griffon clan and the pegasus mob all of Upper Manehatten would have crumbled.” Sidereal grit her teeth. “They forced everyone back into their homes and then disappeared.”

“Disappeared?”

The batpony shook her head. “That’s the only way I can describe it. One moment they were there, swarming the clouds, and the next they were gone. I think it was part of their tactics for making sure no one started anything again. Fear of their return.” Sidereal’s wing twitched absently.

“And then?”

“And then… nothing. Bright had the transceivers knocked out so we couldn’t get any more information from Canterlot. I think he was scared of what they were saying… ”

“As soon as the reports came in that Princess Luna was the one responsible, Bright had us shut down the networks. The city was calm for a day.”

“A day?” The quill scratched at the quickly filling pages.

Steady licked his lips. “Just a day. Even when it was clear he was shook up, Bright kept us going. We were searching for the red cloak’s hideout when a house exploded in the Upper East Side. It was all anypony needed to start rioting again, but this time it wasn’t just the west side of the city… ”

“The next part is just what I’ve heard, so I’m not sure if you want to quote me on it.”

“That’s fine, Sidereal. It’s all what I’ve heard from you, regardless.”

“Yeah, alright.” The flames on the candles flickered as the librarian’s assistant opened a door. “No pony really knows what caused the explosion. The royal guards thought it was the red cloaks. The red cloaks thought it was the griffon clan. The griffon clan thought it was the pegasus mob. The pegsaus mob thought it was the star watchers. The star watchers thought it was the royal guard. And just like that,” Sidereal clopped her hooves together, “the city erupted.”

“Was that when Bright ordered Upper Manehatten sunk?”

“No, no, he wasn’t that impulsive. That was after we realized the red cloak’s true goal, the next day. But that’s still ahead.”

“Right, forgive me. Please, continue.”

“It’s alright. So, as I was saying, everyone blamed someone else for the explosion. The griffon clan started wiping the pegasus mob from Upper Manehatten. I had rallied the star watchers by then and was on my way to stop them when I was attacked and captured by a griffon.”

“The current Clan Mother: Gilda?”

“Yes… ”

“I didn’t know what else to do, so I followed them when they came for me.” Quick Fix fidgeted. “Everypony was dressed in red and torches hovered over us.”

“What did Arc want from you?”

The unicorn pony looked up from the table. “He said we were going to push the royal guards into the sea.”

“The royal guard compound isn’t something you can just throw ponies at to break it,” Steady said proudly. “As soon as they heard a mob was coming, the compound buttoned up. That many unicorns maintaining a shield meant nothing was getting in or out.”

“And where were you?”

“Outside the shield, unfortunately. Me, Ray, and Amaranthine were still searching for the red cloak’s hideout. We were certain we would be found and lynched when some star watchers found us. They helped us find and secure the hideout.”

“Where was it?”

“The northern border of Trottingham where it met the Upper East Side.” Steady pointed it out on the map with a hoof. “We holed up there till the morning. We also found out what the red cloaks wanted: the city. The Red Queen’s army was marching from Canterlot to Manehatten to occupy the city as the new center of Equestria.”

“The center? That wouldn’t make much sense… ” The librarian started shuffling his maps on the table until one of Equestria was on top.

“A new center,” Steady circled an area on the map with his hoof, “for a new Equestria.” The cities on the west coast of the continent were outside Steady’s circle, which didn’t even reach Canterlot. “The area they drew didn’t include anything outside this.”

“Can you give a guess on why, knowing what you know?”

Steady shrugged. “I can’t imagine the destruction caused by the meteor’s explosion. Maybe it took the entire western half. Maybe the Red Queen made a deal with a third party. I’m not sure, though I’m certain I’ll find out.”

“Of course.” The librarian turned the page of his book. “Back to that day, if you would.”

“Alright.” Steady took a moment. “We learned about their plan and a lot about Arc, and we knew we had to get this information to Bright as fast as we could. I used a teleportation spell to get everypony with me to my apartment in West Village. From there it took some doing but we eventually made it into the compound.”

“And that’s when Bright decided to sink Upper Manehatten?”

Steady took a deep breath. “Yes. The plan was to initiate the emergency evacuation teleporters and get everypony off the island before sinking Upper Manehatten into Lower Manehatten, destroying both. However… ”

Quick Fix watched the librarian’s daughter light new candles around the room while he caught up with his writing. He motioned for her to continue.

“I woke up in an abandoned apartment. It was around noon I think. There was a lot of shouting outside so I got up and looked.” She looked confused. “It was just… us. Red cloaks everywhere. Everypony else had vanished.”

“They abandoned the riot?”

“No, not that. I heard they were teleported away. Arc was furious.” Quick Fix shook. “He yelled at us all to retreat… ”

“… which is exactly what Bright wanted them to do.” The light of the candles reflected in Steady’s eyes. “We had rigged the teleporters to ignore anyone wearing red. Though, it left some ponies in the city who weren’t red cloaks so Bright sent out some guards to find them. Everypony else spread out through the city to designated positions under Upper Manehatten.”

“But you didn’t?”

“No. The A.T.D. was tasked with finding and stopping Arc and any red cloaks that were helping him.”

“While the city fell?” The librarian stopped writing a moment to look shocked.

Steady smiled feebly. “It was part of the job.”

“I was knocked out to ensure I wouldn’t escape. When I woke up I was inside The Star’s Reach casino.” Sidereal looked distant. “Myself and a few other batponies were being presented to then Clan Mother by Gilda. She was using us to get close to the clan. That’s when the city started to crumble around us.”

“Can you describe it in more detail? I’ve never heard of such an event before.”

Sidereal unconsciously brought up her hooves. “Blue fireballs shooting up towards the sky everywhere. The flames didn’t hurt any living creatures, but they started consuming lighter clouds. Ponies and griffons fell through holes that appeared under them, fire washing over them.” She ran her hooves through her mane. “It was a fucking nightmare. I thought I was still dreaming; that I had to be dreaming. I couldn’t imagine anything like this ever happening in reality.”

The pony paused to gather herself. “I was dragged out of the casino by my subordinates.”

“And Gilda?”

Sidereal shook her head. “Before the fire balls started I heard her saying how she was getting revenge for someone named Signy, who died in the explosion from the day before. After that everything started happening so fast that I lost sight of her and the Clan Mother. I can only assume they fought while everything crumbled around them… ”

“Did Bright know that the teleporters wouldn’t save anyone in Upper Manehatten?”

Steady looked nervous. “I want to believe he didn’t, but I’m not sure.”

“Alright. So you went after Arc?”

“And the other red cloaks with him, yes. That’s when I found Quick Fix.” Steady sighed. “Ray and Amaranthine fought alongside me, but they fell while I was protecting my sister. I made sure Arc paid… ”

“I’ve never seen my brother so mad. He and Arc were using teleport and creation magic against each other and all I could do was watch.” Quick Fix closed her eyes. “I didn’t see how it ended. Steady just teleported next to me and said we were leaving... ”

“It was hard for me to abandon the city, even when I was watching it be destroyed right in front of me. The sunset in the background made it even more surreal.” The batpony put her head on her hoof. “Everything I had ever known was gone in an instant… ”

“We came across Sidereal and some batponies outside of the city.” Steady shuffled the empty cup around on the table. “We were all that was left: Me, Quick Fix, Sidereal, and three other star watchers. All the citizens we had teleported away were being rounded up by the Red Queen’s army. All we could do was slip away as quietly as we could… ”

“Still, we were found by the griffon clan as we were sneaking out. That’s when I saw Gilda holding the spear they use to signify the Clan Mother. The only reason we’re alive is because Steady convinced them that the red cloaks destroyed the city.” Sidereal shook her head gently. “We were lucky, that’s all.”

“And you made your way here, to Hollow Shades right after?”

“That was also blind luck,” Sidereal admitted. “What with the way you ponies hide yourselves.”

“For good reason, as you’ve seen yourself,” the librarian countered.

“True… we’re thankful that you took us in.”

Nodding, the older unicorn set down his quill. “I think that’s enough for tonight. Though I’m sure this old mind of mine will think up more questions for you by morning.”

Smiling, Sidereal stood. “It’s the least we can do to repay you for your kindness.”

Warm night air made her mane flow as Sidereal walked to her temporary home from the library. It had been unusually warm every night since the meteor and didn’t appear to be getting cooler any time soon. Did something happen to the seasons now that the princesses are gone?

It still hurt her to think about Princess Luna’s death. The news had been given to her after getting to Hollow Shades by Steady, who had witnessed it before the transceivers were turned off. Public execution in the middle of Canterlot…

“Sidereal!”

The batpony turned and saw Steady in the doorway of the small home he and his sister had been given. All the homes in the town were large trees converted for living. Sidereal walked over to him.

“Hey, how was it?” Steady asked softly. It was already late into the night.

Sidereal started to say it had been easy but stopped. Always lying to Bright, and always being lied to. “It… it’s hard, still, to think about it. To know what we know now and think about how things could have been different.”

Nodding, the unicorn looked at the ground. “It’s the same for me and Quick Fix. I keep wondering how many guards actually made it out, or how many ponies in red didn’t… ”

They shared a moment of silence, thoughts in the past.

“I want to know why this happened, Steady,” Sidereal said, breaking the silence. “I want to know why the Red Queen killed the princesses, and why so many had to die for it.”

Steady looked the batpony in the eyes. “Me too. But I wouldn’t mind knocking around the ‘Queen’ a little as well.” He stifled a yawn.

With a smile, Sidereal touched his shoulder gently with a hoof. “We can talk about it more tomorrow. Goodnight, Steady.”

“Yeah, goodnight.”

Sidereal could feel Steady’s eyes on her as she walked away. Even going through all of that he can still feel that way? She smiled again despite herself. At least he’s honest…

Chapter 15 - Somewhere to Lay: Part One

Five years, ten months after meteor…

Everfree Forest...

A fly flew into the room. She couldn’t see it from where she was lying, on her side on the bed, but she heard it. It was the loudest thing in her world.

Zecora wasn’t in the bed with her, she realized. The zebra’s body wasn’t pressing against her back the way she had to in order for them both to sleep in the small bed. They had talked about finding a larger one in Ponyville. She knew where a few were, maybe even one or two in the hospital. Then I can finally stretch out and not have her all over me…

The fly landed. Quiet settled over the room.

Where is she?

The talk of the bed always ended conversations. Zecora would bring it up, Shy would nod, and the next hour was silence. The pony knew they needed one. Neither of them had been sleeping too well ever since they started living together. Shy just needed to go into Ponyville and get it, a task that would take no longer than a few hours.

Shy opened her eyes and sat up, the blanket slipping down off of her. “Zecora?”

Wings buzzing, the fly took off. It made for a hole in the wood covering the broken window and escaped into the morning.

It was then that Shy realized the rain had temporarily stopped. Perfect weather for the trip now...

“Zecora? Answer me!” Shy brought her lower legs around and slipped off the bed. Even though she didn’t think it necessary anymore, she still walked on her back two legs. It had begun to feel more natural to her. The zebra had tried to mimic her a few times but failed to grasp the ability.

Using her hooves to grasp the handle, Shy pulled the door open. The smell of cooking hit her. Zecora stood beside her large pot suspended over a fire, stirring the contents with a wooden spoon. “Hey,” Shy said moodily.

Zecora turned from the pot. “Oh, good morning, Shy! I was jus-”

“Didn’t you hear me calling for you?” Shy started walking over.

“No… ” The zebra shuffled from hoof to hoof nervously. “I was cooking for you… ”

“Come to bed, now.” The pony turned back to the room.

“But the food… ”

“We can make more later. Come.”

After quickly extinguishing the cooking fire with a nearby cup of water, Zecora followed obediently. The door to their room was closed by Shy, her eyes watching the zebra closely.

A few hours later, the two of them lay side by side in bed, staring opposite directions.

Zecora said something meekly.

A strand of pink hair invaded Shy’s vision. It stood out in contrast to the hut’s drab colors.

This is my hair.

She brought her yellow hoof up to put the hair back in its place, but the hoof stopped at contact with her forehead. A ragged breath escaped her and she had to close her eyes to steady herself.

“Shy?”

“What?”

“The rain’s still stopped… ”

Shy laughed thoughtlessly. “Alright.” The blanket shifted as she slid her body off the bed, lower legs first.

“Do you want to eat something before you go?”

I want to die.

“No,” the pony said. “I’ll be quick.”

“Ok… ”

The door to their room opened and Shy walked out.

Shy’s mind urged her to run. Running would have made the task faster. She couldn’t think about anything while running. And if a tree stopped her suddenly, all the better.

But she didn’t run. There was barely any urgency in her movements.

Signs of life permeated the charred remains of the Everfree Forest. Insects swarmed to the remains of the monster, which brought birds and other creatures after them. Larger creatures such as foxes or deer were yet to be seen. There was still nowhere for them to hide, the underbrush having yet to regrow.

There were sprinkles of green scattered throughout the dirt, showing that something was trying to grow back. Shy had a rough idea of how many years had passed, thanks to Zecora, so the thought of rebirth amongst the dead forest wasn’t an unusual thought to her. In time, everything will be just like it used to be.

Shy knew that wasn’t true, though. The town full of friendly, caring ponies would never return. She imagined the first thoughts of anypony who eventually stumbled upon Ponyville would be to burn it to the ground to save it from the nightmare it had become. There was only one place Ponyville remained pure: tucked away within her own mind.

Anger overcame her. Fluttershy had stolen her hideaway from her so that she could live in a “perfect” Ponyville. Shy couldn’t even contest the takeover, locked out from that place mentally. The only times she heard from Fluttershy was when they both happened to be in the same place in their respective Ponyvilles, and then all she heard were whispers.

Let’s go to the flower store next, Pinkie Pie!

Oh, Twilight Sparkle, thank you so much for the new book!

On and on Fluttershy went until Shy retreated from the area. All of Ponyville was within and without, consuming her. The pony hated it.

Her hoofs stopped at a crossroads. One path led towards Ponyville; another past Fluttershy’s home. She felt a pull from the path past Fluttershy’s. My armor…

Since killing the monster and removing her armor in her attempt to leave, she had not returned to retrieve it. She imagined the rain had forced it deeper into the mud it had fallen to. The thought of going past Fluttershy’s house to retrieve it always stopped her from doing so.

I don’t want to go there ever again. I don’t want to be here anymore.

While she walked to Ponyville, Shy punched every other tree she passed. Her mood darkened to black.

Words came from her directed at no one. “Why am I still here? What is the point in any of this?”

A feeling of somepony acknowledging the question was felt within her mind, but no answer surfaced. Since defeating the monster, Skadi had been silent except for small feelings of being Shy would get. Something’s wrong with her… it’s almost like how she was after Canterlot…

The snow falling from the mountainside had, at the time, seemed like a lucky coincidence. However, because of the way the alicorn had helped her kill the monster, Shy was beginning to wonder just how much power Skadi had. The fact that she had power at all scared the pony immensely. Questions continued to pile up without any answers in sight.

Why am I still here?

Where did Skadi come from?

Why does she have some kind of power over water?

Shy shook her head. Were there even any answers at all?

The park just outside Ponyville opened up as she walked out of the forest. Several skeletal ponies stood frozen, propped up with metal beams and wooden planks. Some were even structurally sound enough to stand on their own. A particularly complex arrangement of them appeared to be playing with a ball, though the object was deflated and half buried in the mud.

Shy walked over to a pony. Purple bones with purple hair sticking limply out of it. She bent and wrapped her front legs around the purple pony’s back legs, lifting her up.

What am I here for? What am I good for? This.

The skeleton flew through the air into another. Bones shattered as the two dead bodies crumpled together.

Destruction.

Shy grabbed another pony and began dragging it into town.

It was difficult to find glass that wasn’t completely shattered, but Shy was persistent. The front display glass of Sugar Cube Corner had been replaced by Fluttershy. Somehow she had found and installed the glass, a process that had most likely taken days for the untrained pony.

Shy grabbed the skeleton and hurled it through the window. Shards of glass cut her front legs. Streams of blood ran from the wounds. She ran the skeleton all over the window as if torturing the corpse. Unable to withstand the assault, it broke apart in her hooves.

Without regard for further injury, Shy climbed through the window. Inside, the skeletons of the store owners stood silent vigil over the empty shelves. They had been meticulously put back together and propped up with a delicate hoof.

Shy let out a feral scream.

Her front hooves wrapped around the stallion’s neck and spun his head all the way around. She yanked, ripping the skull from his body. It fell to the floor. Shy stomped on it till it was dust. The rest of the body was lifted to be slammed repeatedly against the front counter until both crumbled.

With the pony, Shy punched her front hooves into its body. More blood ran from more cuts appearing on her front legs but she didn’t care. Once the ribcage was completely destroyed, Shy took what remained and used it as a battering ram through the front door.

Shy stared at the rolling clouds overhead from where she laid in the mud. A flock of something passed overhead just under the clouds. If she focused, she could have said what they were, where they had come from, and where they were going. The information on more animals than she could count was stored inside her head thanks to Fluttershy.

The pony’s vision remained unfocused on anything in particular. She thought maybe a few bugs examined her and moved on, or a bird, or some other animal. Maybe a wolf will venture deep into Ponyville in search of food and rip me apart.

“… Oh I know! It looks just wonderful on you, Rarity.”

Shy sighed and closed her eyes. The fun never ends.

The sound of hoofsteps got closer to the pony on the ground. Two ponies chatted back and forth over the topic of clothing. Shy remained perfectly still as they walked past her.

“Go on ahead, Rarity, I’ll catch up.”

One pony stopped and the other kept going until she was out of earshot.

“Shy?”

“Keep walking, Fluttershy,” the laying down pony said.

“Are you alright? You look hurt… ”

“You don’t really care, so why are you asking?”

Shy could hear Fluttershy stepping nervously in place. “I care… you’re my friend… ”

Gritting her teeth, Shy shook her head softly. “I don’t really want to deal with you today, Fluttershy. Go away.”

“… I’m here if you need me… ” Fluttershy started away.

“Wait!” Shy sat up and opened her eyes. Fluttershy, a few meters away, stopped and turned around. “I have a question.” The pristine pony opened her mouth to respond but Shy cut her off. “I don’t want a bullshit answer either.”

Fluttershy continued to look nervous but nodded.

Taking a breath, Shy asked, “You could have forced me to do what you wanted and then locked me back up. Why give me any freedom at all?”

Large blue eyes stared back at one another. Fluttershy asked softly, “Weren’t you happy? With Zecora, for a little while, weren’t you?”

Shy recalled the past month. The sex, the calm, being with Zecora. Living there. “No. I’ll never be happy as long as I stay here.”

Nodding, Fluttershy turned away again. “I know.” She started away.

This time, Shy let her go.

The double doors to the hospital were stuck open by encroaching mud. It glistened from the shards of broken glass buried within. Shy imagined every window in the entire building that hadn’t shattered from the meteor had succumbed to the elements over the years.

It wasn’t a place she visited often, having raided it of medicine long ago. Fluttershy had even left the place alone for years due to the many dead ponies fused to their hospital beds inside. Shy did have a memory of the other pony within her finding a room of supplies, one of them being an undamaged bed.

Throughout her search Shy stumbled and bumped around the dark hallways like a drunken pony. The scrapes and bruises added to her already cut up limbs. She didn’t care. Doesn’t hurt.

She found the mattress she was searching for on the fourth floor behind multiple double doors. The corpses of several ponies were huddled together in the hallway outside the final doors. So close, yet so far.

Shy opened the doors Fluttershy had unlocked years ago. Inside were cans of pickled vegetables and soups stacked on shelves along the walls. In the center was the princess sized mattress she had come for.

Several empty shelves held her attention. It had always seemed odd to her that Fluttershy had never gone hungry, even while waiting for her initial crops to grow. There were a few blank spots in the memories Fluttershy had given her as well, some involving the hospital. What don’t you want me to see?

Seeing no point in waiting for an answer that would never come, Shy walked to the mattress. It was suspended on a rolling hospital bed for easy maneuverability. With the same uncaring attitude as before, Shy pushed the bed into the hallway, knocking over and crushing the corpses in her way.

Every double door slammed open from the force of the bed rolling down the hallway. Shy kept going faster and faster. This is the bed Zecora and I will lie in for-

Again, Shy opened her eyes to see the clouds rolling overhead. Her entire body felt numb. Looking to her side, she saw the hospital bed several yards away, turned on its side. Looking back up, she saw the hospital wall high overhead that had given way.

“Just let me die.”

A drop of rain hit her forehead. Another hit her cheek and ran down.

Zecora’s going to be upset.

She closed her eyes when the rain started increasing.

I’m going to kill her. If I go back I’m going to kill her and then I’m going to kill myself.

The sound of rainfall flooded her ears.

Fluttershy won’t let me. What’s the point?

What’s the point of anything?

Shy stood up on her back legs and walked towards Everfree Forest.

Shy felt like she had been hit by a carriage by the time Zecora’s hut came into view. The sun was still a few hours from sunset. The smell of food cooking temporarily dulled her aching everything.

Eat, sleep, fuck, die.

The pony paused at the ajar door. Zecora doesn’t leave this open. “Zecora?” Shy called out, opening the door completely.

Something a full head taller than Shy held Zecora by the neck with one claw while brandishing a knife with the other. It had been so long since she had seen the species it took the pony a moment to realize what she was seeing.

“Don’t fucking move, pony!” the male griffon threatened. “Wouldn’t want the zebra to get hurt now, would you?” Zecora appeared paralyzed with fear.

A torrent of information threatened to overwhelm Shy suddenly. Griffon, alone, knife, hostage, inside, tables, pots, pans, Zecora. The library of knowledge Fluttershy had consumed from Twilight’s home broke everything she saw down into the most basic of ideas.

“What kind of griffon scout are you?” she blurted out. “A knife and a hostage? Really? I can see why they didn’t want you in camp; you’re nothing but a coward!”

Screeching, the griffon tossed Zecora away and charged Shy. Shy ran two hoofs before jumping to clothesline the griffon as he stepped around a chair. She forced his body down, his neck landing on the chair’s back. A loud snap signified her work was done. The pony unwrapped her front leg from the spasming griffon and stood.

Zecora sobbed on the ground where she had landed. Shy took a moment to make sure she wasn’t seriously injured before dragging the griffon’s body outside.

Zecora’s mane pressed against her cheek. “How did you know what to say to him?” she asked

Shy opened her eyes slightly. They clung to one another on their one pony bed. “A single griffon making threats meant he was a scout. Griffon scouts don’t normally use weapons, which meant he couldn’t rely on his own strength. And that meant he was an outcast in his own clan, who value strength above all else.”

“You knew all that just from looking at him? How?”

"She read about it,” was all Shy responded with.

Zecora sat up. “If he’s a scout, that means there’s more of them coming, doesn’t it?”

The zebra over her was just an outline in the darkness. Shy nodded. “If they weren’t before, the loss of a scout assures it.”

Voice trembling, Zecora asked, “What are we going to do?”

Shy reached up and stroked Zecora’s cheek. She was glad the zebra couldn’t see her creeping smile.

We’re going to die.

Chapter 16 - Somewhere to Lay: Part Two

Five years, ten months after meteor...

A peal of thunder rumbled the earth.

The knapsack slung around Shy dripped rainwater. Her vision reached only a few pony lengths in any direction. A wall of rain obscured the rest. It did not deter her as she walked the path she had walked so many times before.

Zecora had insisted on bandaging her injuries of the previous day. Those bandages now hung looser as they became soaked with water. She imagined anypony coming across her would mistake her for a mummy. Not that anypony would come here.

Her hoof bumped into something hard. Shy looked down and saw what she had come for: a piece of metal sticking out of the mud. She reached down with both front hooves and yanked it out. A horned helmet caked in mud. Hello. It stared back silently at her.

“What’s the plan, Shy?” Fluttershy asked from behind her.

“How unlike you to be so forthright,” Shy commented. “Don’t you want to make some tea first? Or maybe we should braid each other’s hair and talk about our feelings?”

“I know your feelings already. You made them clear last night.” Shy put the helmet in her knapsack and kept walking while Fluttershy berated her. “You’re going to just let the griffons come and hurt Zecora?”

“They’re going to kill Zecora, after they kill me.” Shy bent and picked up another piece of her armor. “I’ve pretty much guaranteed that.”

“I know you don’t care about yourself, but she doesn’t have to suffer because of that!”

The pony on two legs glared over her shoulder. “Every day she stays is her own choice.”

“She stays because of you!”

“Why do you care?” Shy spun to face Fluttershy. Thunder ripped through the sky overhead. The light did not reflect off of the pony on four legs. “You wanted her to die so she could become part of your fake world!”

“I don’t want any of my friends to get hurt!” Fluttershy huffed.

“Then do something about it!” Shy shoved another piece of armor into the sack. “Let me leave this hellhole!” Fluttershy grit her teeth and looked down. “That’s what I thought.” The standing pony returned to finding her armor.

Fluttershy sat while watching her. “You’re letting your hatred of me effect how you feel about Zecora. If you feel anything for her at all, you won’t let her get hurt.”

“Hurt, hurt, hurt; just say she’s going to die already.”

“No pony dies in Ponyville.”

“Then it’s a good thing she isn’t a pony, isn’t it?” Shy bent to pick up the last of her armor.

“Please, Shy… I know you care about her… ”

The element of kindness stuck halfway out of the mud a few hooves from Shy. Its pink surface was unmarred by the elements, seeming to glow softly in the torrent induced darkness. I don’t need you where I’m going, Shy thought.

Fluttershy’s pleads continued. “Shy… ”

“You’re wrong, Fluttershy.” Shy turned from the element. “I don’t care about you, or her, or anypony else.” Her voice dripped venom. “I hate you all more than you could imagine.” She walked past the stunned pony towards Zecora’s hut.

The hut’s door slammed open. Zecora jumped and fell over herself in panic. “Calm down!” Shy yelled at her from the doorway. The zebra visibly calmed at the sight of the pony.

“Shy, I-”

“Shut up.” Shy walked into the hut, metal inside her knapsack clanking. “I’m tired of this game, Zecora. Ever since you came back to Ponyville you’ve been a pain in my ass.” The pony kicked furniture out of the way to get to the food storage container. “Get your things and go.”

Zecora sat perfectly still, mouth agape. “Did… did I do something wrong? I-”

Shy stuffed the sack she wore with food. “I don’t want to see your face anymore. Get out of Ponyville. Tonight.” When the sack was bulging with food, Shy turned around and started for the door.

“NO!” Zecora screamed as true realization dawned on her. “I don’t want to go! Please!” She got to her hooves and took a step towards Shy.

The glare the pony gave her stopped her in her tracks. “I can’t kill you. Fluttershy won’t let me. But I can hurt you very badly.” Shy leaned down till her face was inches from Zecora’s. “I do not want you here anymore, understand? I never did. Your usefulness is all used up.” She again started walking for the exit.

“I love you!” Zecora blurted out. Shy froze. The zebra began to sob. “I love you. Please don’t leave me alone.”

Shy stayed perfectly still for a full minute. When she spoke, she did not turn to the zebra. “I hate you,” was all she said before walking out of the hut.

The sound of Zecora wailing followed her out the door.

Many of the houses in Ponyville were uninhabitable, either made so instantly when the meteor exploded or from eventually succumbing to the elongated seasons. Shy wandered the town until she found one Fluttershy had maintained for one reason or another. The shoddy repairs looked weathered.

Shy left a trail of water behind her as she investigated the inside. All of the windows had been boarded over and the roof had been patched with planks. Rain seemed to leak through everything, warping the wood floor and forming pools. Broken, beaten, warped.

The pony dropped her knapsack to the floor and sat. This is fine. It shouldn’t be too long till they get here. I’ll wait till they spread throughout Ponyville, kill a few, then die.

Rainwater dripped from the ceiling to a pool on her left. The sound seemed to echo throughout the empty house.

Shy stood and walked to a wooden chair. It had remained somewhat dry. She took a matchstick from her knapsack and lit the seat on fire. Again, she sat, this time somewhat warmer.

This is fine.

Zecora wailed in her mind. Thunder boomed outside. No light entered the house through the boarded windows. The shadows danced behind the fire.

Shy stared into the flames.

This is fine.

Three days later…

Metal claws raked through empty air. Shy hopped from back hoof to back hoof. Her breathing was steady. Again her armored claws swung about, seeking invisible targets. Shouldn’t have let the target practice shit in the Hall rust, she thought for the hundredth time.

Sighing, she lowered her front legs. Though she didn’t feel in as good of a condition as when she fought the beast, Shy knew she could still put up a fight. The armor didn’t feel as heavy as it had when she had again donned it several days ago. She had fought the urge to train all out with the knowledge that her life was on a timer.

But the thoughts that polluted her head when she wasn’t training felt worse than her tired limbs. Lingering images of Zecora sleeping, cooking, or smiling wouldn’t go away. Shy tried to move her mind in a more constructive direction: Fluttershy and Skadi. But even those thoughts caused nothing but confusion and anger. But I’m closer now, I can feel it.

Shy speared a slightly darkened cabbage from her knapsack and ate it carefully, keeping her helmet on. She lamented how comfortable she had become with her armor, something she couldn’t take with her into the afterlife. Maybe Death will make me a soldier of Tartarus?

“Why do you think you’ll go there?”

The pony stopped chewing and looked towards the voice. Fluttershy sat on the only other dry spot within the house. Shy narrowed her eyes and continued her meal without responding.

“It doesn’t have to be this way. You could go underground and hide in the tunnels.”

Shy rolled her eyes. She turned her head away from the other pony and took another bite of cabbage.

“What about a deal?”

The eating pony slowly turned her head back towards Fluttershy, glaring daggers.

“… alright, no more deals. Please, Shy, you can’t just-”

“Can’t just what?” Shy spat at the other pony. “Can’t just die? Don’t act like you can’t do anything about it, that this is my decision!”

“We can’t leav-”

Metal claw raised and pointing at Fluttershy, “I’m not talking about leaving! You have the power to stop them, don’t you?” Fluttershy’s eyes widened, mouth shutting fast. “Right, I forgot, you can’t acknowledge that, can you? Alright, just stop me when I say something false.” Shy stared into Fluttershy’s eyes. “You have some kind of magical power, some item or spell, don’t you?”

Fluttershy gulped.

“… I knew it. The element of harmony reacted twice, once when Skadi tried to kill you and the other when I was fighting the monster.” Shy’s hoof shook. “That’s how you really survived all of this, isn’t it? How you could build all those machines and plow the fields and put everypony back together? You got stronger, yes, but you had some kind of edge, didn’t you?”

“Shy, enough,” Fluttershy said through gritted teeth.

“I’m right, aren’t I?” Shy’s lower lip shook. “It’s true? All this time you could have done everything yourself and yet you were putting me through this hell!”

Several heavy thuds suddenly pounded across the roof. “They’re here,” Fluttershy said breathlessly, looking up at the ceiling. When she looked back at Shy there were tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry. I never meant for you to get in the middle of this.”

“In the middle of what?” Shy stood. More and more thuds thundered overhead. “What’s going on?!”

Fluttershy’s head shot to the side, eyes seeming to look through the wall. “She’s back.” The bright yellow pony turned and fled through the closed backdoor.

“FLUTTERSHY!” Shy screamed at the top of her lungs. A large form burst through the boards over a window and barreled down on her. Claws the size of Shy’s head came in from either side.

Shy stepped into the attack, left front hoof shooting out and up. She caught the griffon under the chin, her claws piercing up into its brain from below. Still, the beast’s momentum caused it to fall onto Shy. Its death spasms and the awkward angle her front leg was in restricted Shy’s movements.

The sound of another griffon entering through the window echoed through the house, its lion paws splashing in the pools of water. Shy froze. She waited until the new griffon was leaning down to check on its companion before punching out with her right hoof. Her claws lanced into the male griffon’s face, his sex given away by his screech of pain. Shy pulled her claw away, ripping half the griffon’s face off. He fell to the ground screaming.

The pony took the moment to pull her claw from the head of the first griffon and crawl out from under it. No more thudding footfalls emanated from the ceiling. She got her back legs under her, front legs dripping blood.

Shy kicked open the door to the house and stepped into the blinding downpour. Large shadowy figures swooped from rooftop to rooftop. In the corner of her eye she saw a something yellow duck around a corner.

“You aren’t getting away,” Shy growled out and pursued.

Gilda stuck a nail into the empty socket of a pony. The skull sat on the complete recreation of that particular pony’s body. It was held together with string, glue, and cloth. “What an abomination.”

“It’s like this everywhere in this town, Mother,” Salana, second to the Clan Mother, remarked. “Skeletons of ponies put back together.”

They stood on the first floor of a library cut out from the inside of a tree. A spear with a jagged edge was tightly secured to Gilda’s back. The pony the griffon poked had purple bones and seemed vaguely familiar to her.

A male griffon stepped through the open door of the library. “Mother, we’ve found Gald in a shallow grave outside of the town.”

Without turned towards him, Gilda replied, “And the one responsible?”

“There was a home near him, but no one was inside. Sama and Yick are also missing.”

This time, Gilda did turn. She towered over the male, the dark splotches around her eyes giving her a monstrous appearance in the dark building. “Something is in this town. Find it and bring it to me.”

“Yes, Mother!” the male shouted and fled into the rain.

Gilda returned her attention to the purple pony. Scoffing, she pushed the pony aside and moved deeper into the library. “I can’t imagine a pony doing this. Perhaps some monster getting off on being around so much death?”

“Nothing I’ve ever heard of,” said Salana. She stood just a few inches shorter than Gilda with light blue splotches of color on her white feathers.

“Once it’s dead, we’ll… ” The sight of rainbow hair poking out from under a blanket sent a shiver through Gilda. She walked slowly towards the bed. “No… ” Her claw reached out and gingerly pulled the blanket away. There, put together like any other pony, was Rainbow Dash. Gilda gently stroked Rainbow’s skeletal cheek. Nostalgia hit her hard.

Hey, Gilda, will you come visit me in Ponyville?

That lame place? Why don’t you come to Filly Delphia instead?

It’s not lame! You’ll see, I’ll be the number one flyer there and they’ll have to make me a Wonderbolt!

Yeah, yeah, pipe down. Everyone’s gunna know you’re in here.

Oh, right, heh. We’d be in so much trouble if they knew-

“Clan Mother?”

Gilda pulled away from the skeleton, breath coming in gasps. Salana stood on the other side of the bed with a worried expression. “Are you alright?” she asked.

“I’m fine,” Gilda calmed. She ran her eyes up and down Rainbow Dash, settling on her skull. “Bring me some rope.”

“Yes, Mother.” Salana hurried to comply. Only males carried such simple supplies.

A griffon stalked through the alleyway. The sound made by the rain echoed in the tight space. The tall creature turned its head around to check behind itself.

A shadow in front of it burst forward and punched a claw into its throat. The griffon gurgled, choking on its own blood. The claw drew back and came forward again, following the griffon to the ground. Its last gurgling breaths were lost to the rain.

Shy stood up, the fresh blood already washed away from her armor. She felt some of it soaking into the softer material between the metal and her fur. The pony closed her eyes. I’m not even tired. They must be sending males at me to flush me out, but they’re all so weak.

She walked with one claw tapping against the side of the alley. The clouds kept getting thicker, the world around her darker. A storm had settled in. Though the fighting wasn’t taking a toll on her, the constant rain and stickier mud was starting to. I have to get to the cobbled street if I want a chance at-

Something bright yellow rushed past the mouth of the alley.

Shy nearly tripped running forward. When she got near the end of the alley she stopped. Pressing up against a wall, she sidled to the corner and peeked out. There were no dark shadows anywhere she could see.

Her breath suddenly came out in a white cloud. “Oh, there you are.” Shy recognized Skadi’s voice coming from behind her. She turned slowly and faced the alicorn. No rain touched the tall pony.

“Skadi.” Shy spoke her words carefully. “Why is Fluttershy running from you?”

The alicorn looked surprised. “What makes you think she’s running from me? There are all these scary griffons around, I’m sure she’s just looking for a place to hide from them.”

“She said earlier that I was in the middle of something,” Shy slowly leaned away from Skadi. “In the middle of what?”

“In the middle of town, maybe?” Skadi laughed softly but her eyes stared unblinking into Shy’s mirthlessly. “Who knows what that pony is thinking? She’s been manipulating us from the start.”

“Us?”

“Yes, us. We’re in the same boat.” The alicorn stepped towards the pegasus. “We should work together and stop her once and for all.”

Shy shook her helmeted head slowly. “Just tell me what is really going on, then I decide.”

Silence fell between them. Skadi’s expression went from calm to agitated quickly.

A yelling voice turned both their heads towards the center of town. It was muffled by the rain but Shy could imagine where it was originating. One of them must have perched on the town hall.

“Well, you’re busy, as am I.” Skadi walked past the smaller pony, eyes forward. Shy resisted the urge to lash out with her claws. “I have a pony to catch. Oh,” the alicorn looked over her shoulder, “you’re welcome for saving you last month.” White mist evaporated off of her until she vanished within it. The mist shot off in the direction Fluttershy had run.

Shy let out the breath she had been holding in. Something’s changed between them. They aren’t playing around anymore. The only thing Shy knew for certain was that neither Fluttershy nor Skadi was going to tell her the truth. Her death would come and she would never know what any of it was for.

So be it.

Without fear, she marched out of the alley and towards the voice.

“All clan members, return to camp!” a female griffon shouted from her perch halfway up the Town Hall building. She repeated herself over and over.

“Tell her to stop,” Gilda instructed Salana. Her second in command yelled up at the shouter. The Clan Mother stood in front of the closed double doors of the town hall and stared into the darkness. “Go take a headcount and report back.”

There was no hesitation in Salana’s movements as she headed off to the camp the griffon clan had setup just outside of town. Showing any would have implied she didn’t believe Gilda could kill any challenger, which also meant seeing her as weak. And if any clan member saw the Clan Mother as weak, they were instantly reminded of her strength.

Gilda was left completely alone in Ponyville. Instructing her clan to retreat grated her nerves. She imagined all the ways she would punish the males for being too weak to kill a few monsters. The spear she carried was now in her claws and crackled now and again with electricity.

Secured with rope through its empty sockets, the jaw-less skull of Rainbow Dash stared at nothing from Gilda’s shoulder. “It’s just you and me now, monsters. Come out!”

Thunder erupted in the sky on the other side of town. The streets looked empty for the brief moment Gilda could see clearly.

But she felt something there. When darkness returned, a dark shadow stepped out from around a house and started towards her. “Monsters?” it said in a strangely melodic voice. “I’m the only thing here.”

“You’ve killed my clan alone?” As the shadow came closer Gilda saw the outline of claws and horns. The thing’s size infuriated her. “How could something so miniscule defeat a griffon?”

The thing laughed. “Your clan is weak.” It stopped a few yards away. “Why did you bring them here?”

Gilda ground her teeth together. “I’ll tell you after I rip you apart!” She stepped forward and slashed her spear at the thing.

She stopped the blade an inch before its outline. It hadn’t moved an inch. In fact, it had relaxed completely as if welcoming the attack. Gilda whipped the opposite end into the thing’s face. It fell hard to the street. “Are you mocking me?! Fight!”

It struggled to rise. “I don’t want to anymore. I’ve been fighting every day for the past five years. I just want it to end… ”

Gilda pressed the thing back into the mud with her paw. “You killed my clan. Males, yes, but my clan regardless. Your death will not be quick.” She kicked the thing hard in the midsection, sending it rolling away. Its skin felt as hard as metal. “What the hell are you? A dragon?” It tried to rise again. This time Gilda reached out quickly and grabbed it by the neck. She felt fur against her claw.

A bolt of lightning hitting a building nearby lit the area. Gilda saw the thing for what it was. “A pony?!” she screamed in denial.

Even while being choked, Shy still managed a smile.

The Clan Mother heaved her through the air like she weighed nothing at all. Her armored body skipped along the cobblestones until it came to a rest. She tasted copper and felt wetness on her back. My wing wound is bleeding. Shy willed her body to rise, managing to get her four hooves under her. But she had gone so long since walking like a normal pony that the position now felt strange. I’m not normal.

“That’s too bad, pony,” the Clan Mother was saying, walking towards Shy. She held her crackling spear in both claws. “I can’t have my clan knowing they were being killed off by one of your kind.” Shy stood up completely. “Especially one so strange.”

“That’s all I want.” The pony held her front leg out to either side. “I won’t defend myself.”

The griffon brought her spear down to stab it into Shy. Over the creature’s shoulders, Shy could make out a yellow form and a white form on opposite sides of one another. They stared at her expectantly. Sorry to disappoint. A meaningless death is better than a meaningless life. When neither ponies reacted to her thoughts, Shy made one final conclusion:

Fluttershy separated all three of us. She’s afraid of Skadi, so she did it to protect herself and either purposefully or inadvertently protect me. She gave me control of her body so I could then protect it, making her safe both physically and mentally while attempting to give me what she considers a better life.

So then why are they just standing there letting me die?

The Clan Mother’s attack seemed to come in slow motion. It was so dark that all Shy saw was the small lines of lightning around the spearhead being held by an enormous shadow. Shy kept her eyes wide open, determined to see her death to the end.

What she saw was black and white stripes.

Chapter Break - Los Pegasus

Moments before meteor…

It was almost noon. Zecora leaned against the doorframe, looking up at the bit of sky she could see through the treetops of the Everfree Forest. The only clouds visible were a part of Cloudsdale, the floating city glowed in the bright sunlight.

“Such a beautiful day we have today, I’m sure the celebration is already underway,” the zebra smiled. She had been invited to the celebration but declined. Pony magic and their way of life had always made Zecora feel a little out of place. Though she’d spent more time with the townsponies in recent months, being stuck under a dome of magic, the top of which she could just make out from her hut, just didn’t sit well with her.

High above, she spotted the meteor. They said it was an anomaly that baffled meteorologists. Zecora had also thought it strange that a meteor so far away had suddenly turned for Equestria. Princess Celestia however, saw it as an opportunity to bring her subjects together in honor of herself. Even at that moment, Zecora could see the tiny outline of Celestia flying up towards the fireball.

The zebra sighed. “There is little use for flaunting such power; it is not as if she has enemies to-”

And then the meteor exploded.

A wave of magical energy pulsed out from the rapidly expanding fireball. It washed over the world below it but merely shook the trees. Any feelings of safety were destroyed by a massive wave of fire expanding outwards from where the meteor had once been. Cloudsdale evaporated in seconds as flames consumed it, and the dome of magic over Ponyville winked out beneath a blanket of fire.

Instantly Zecora heard pony screams of shock and terror. They lasted only for a moment, before being cut short as the flames reached them.

Zecora’s mind reacted faster than her legs. My home is protected, the flames will be deflected! She turned into her home and tried to get the door closed behind her. An instant before the door sealed, fire forced itself through. The door shut and Zecora slumped down against it. One side of her face felt strange and her vision blurred. She brought a hoof up to touch it. It came away bloody.

“Wha-”

That’s when the pain shot through her like a lightning bolt. Zecora screamed and forced herself not to touch the burn further, though her hooves shook inches from it. Aloe… ointment… poppy… she ran through the ingredients and potions she had on hand. Stumbling, the zebra made her way to the shelves closest to her. She attempted to lift herself using the lowest one. It broke away from the wall, glass shattering all around her. Several shards sliced into her side and front legs.

Get up… GET UP!

She stood again on shaky legs. Spilled ingredients were all around her. A few naturally square leaves of a plant sizzled on the dirt floor. Zecora gingerly lifted one of the leaves with her front hooves and applied it to the burn. It soothed some of the pain. The zebra applied the remaining leaves, all of which stuck to her face with a gentle press.

When she could think clearly again, Zecora took several breaths to calm herself. The burn will heal with some care, though the scar may give Ponyville a scare. An image of the magic dome vanishing popped into her mind. Surely…

Zecora gathered her will and walked to the door. Her front hooves pulled on the latch but the frame didn’t budge. “Come on... ” her words cut short by a wince. Talking, moving the muscles on her face at all, stung. She needed to see a doctor. There was no way she would be able to completely treat herself. Focusing again, the zebra pulled on the latch harder.

The sound of seared together wood ripping apart rewarded her for her efforts. Intense heat washed over her. It was enough to force her good eye shut as well as making the leaves over her burns sizzle loudly. Zecora fought against the urge to shut the door. I need to know… She opened her eye.

As a child, Zecora would sit in rapt attention as her grandmother told her tales of Tartarus. Guarded by giant beasts were seas of flame housing demons far worse than their jailors. Trapped for eternity, the souls of the damned were their only amusement in that hell, burning forever in agony.

In that moment, staring out at the burning forest before her, the only thing stopping her mind from seeing Tartarus was the silence. There were no screams, no agony, no amused demons. Nothing but flames consuming everything they could. But Ponyville is alright…

Silence.

There was something mystical about how the hours passed by. Zecora was trapped by the fire all around her, forced to sit and watch as they slowly dwindled with the day. It hurt to breathe. It hurt more to think. To remain still and silent and watchful in case something stirred. In case something called for aid. She couldn’t even cry lest her sobbing drown out the calls of another.

But no cries ever came.

Night quietly settled in without a fuss. The fires around her were nothing but heated embers. They were the only light in the world of encroaching darkness.

Her stomach growled. I have not eaten… In her home was enough food to last her a few days. There was never enough for much longer, always just enough to force her to visit Ponyville and see all her-

Like a falling tree, Zecora toppled over. The tears finally came, each one’s touch stinging the burns on her face. Warmth from the ground heated the other side of her face as she lay in her sorrow.

Her life of solitude afforded her many moments of weakness where she could understand herself without prying eyes. What I wouldn’t give to be seen now…

Everything hurt.

There was so much pain within and without her that she thought she was imagining the yelling. She shot to her hooves. There, in the direction of Ponyville, somepony was yelling. Zecora shot off towards it. Her stiff body screamed at her but she ignored it. They’re fine! Everything is-

The zebra rounded a bend and nearly ran headfirst into a stallion. He wore the garbs of a guard of Canterlot. Zecora didn’t take the time to question it. “Oh, thank Celestia!” she said between gasps.

The guard looked her over a moment. He looked behind him, “We got a zebra over here!”

“Wha-”

Magic enveloped her. On any other day, in any other setting, Zecora would have been able to break the levitation. But pain and confusion had dulled her. In one quick motion she was lifted and slammed down onto an open carriage. It hurt, and that pain combined with the pain of seeing her entire life shatter before her eyes finally did her in.

Sleep claimed her.

“…please…”

“Quiet down in there!” Something loud banged next to Zecora’s head. She opened her eye slowly, the other still covered in the sticky leaves.

Morning light revealed a new hell. The open carriage had been stuffed with ponies and stallions. Unicorns had large magical locks around their horn. Pegasi had ropes wrapped around their bodies to keep their wings down. The press of them forced the zebra against the wooden side. Bumps in the road jostled the bunch, ensuring only those whose bodies couldn’t take it anymore could sleep.

Zecora wiggled enough to look over the side of the carriage. Canterlot guards walked beside it, guarding a line of them in front and behind the one the zebra rode. When a guard noticed her, he levitated up a spear and slapped her across the face with the shaft. “GET BACK DOWN!”

She quickly retreated to nurse her newest injury. What is happening… has Equestria gone mad?

From within the carriage, Zecora could see the trees beside the path they traveled on. They were much less burnt than the ones in Everfree. The ponies around her all looked scared and tired. Most wore fine clothing that was being rubbed to tatters. Canterlot… but far from Canterlot…

A ripple of commotion ran from the guards in front down the line. They started making sure everypony in the carriages were awake by banging on the sides. It felt like the world was closing in on the zebra.

And then the trees came to a sudden end. The banging on the sides stopped. All sounds stopped. Zecora stared at the wood in front of her, her heart banging in her ears.

A shadow turned her world dark a moment before passing on.

Her head shot up. Dozens of massive forms flew overhead. Their wings extended far to the sides. Their scales reflected the sun.

It hurt to say it, but Zecora couldn’t stop herself as she stared in awe. “Dragons… ”

Ponies in the carriages panicked. They tried to escape over the sides. There to stop them were the guards with magic and weapon. Zecora used the moment to stand up and inspect her surroundings for some way out.

They had stopped in a clearing. A mountain rose up on one side of the carriages. The words “Applewood” stood in giant letters on the mountainside, but several letters were ablaze and others had toppled over. A massive city sprawled away from the mountain. Waterfalls poured down from clouds high over the tall buildings. Though the zebra had never been, she recognized the place from stories. Los Pegasus.

The ground began to shake violently as dragon after dragon landed in a circle around the carriages. Some were as large as the town hall in Ponyville, but the ones that came close were only a few heads taller than a stallion. And the one leading them stood a head shorter than those.

His scales were black as the night. His red eyes held single black dots that made anypony who met them shrink away. Even the guard in front who conversed with the dragon couldn’t keep eye contact with the intimidating beast. They were three carriages away but the dragon’s deep, booming voice reached every pony there.

“These are the ponies I was promised?”

Shock hit Zecora like a train. The ponies in the carriage with her started to wail. No…

“…we’ll take it from here. Back to your queen you go.”

All of the guards looked relieved and started to leave. Reality set in on everypony. Some tried to jump over the side of the carriage. Some curled up to escape the truth.

Those that ran were met with roaring dragons.

“Enough! Quiet!” boomed the dragon. The carriages shook from his voice. Everypony stilled.

He walked slowly down the line of carriages, examining the ponies still within. The other dragons shoved the now scared stiff ponies who had run back towards the carriages, but the black dragon paid them no attention. His eyes glanced over the ponies curled into balls and lingered on the ones still with defiance in their eyes.

When he got to Zecora’s carriage he stopped. Red eyes locked with hers. The zebra felt her legs growing weak. “A zebra?” he asked no one in particular. “How unusual… I’ll be taking this one.”

Before Zecora could register his words, a single massive claw grabbed her around her body from behind and lifted her up. The ponies in the carriage stared with eyes filled with fear. Zecora could hear some calling out for Celestia to save them.

Why…

Two months after meteor…

The squealing of the prison door opening woke Zecora. There was no bed under her and no hut around her. She blinked until she remembered being tossed into the cell. Even after what felt like weeks it was still difficult for her to accept the truth of it all.

Light from the magically burning torches bathed the drab prison in blue. The one thing Zecora realized from her stay was that dragons loved blue fire. Why any of this was happening was still beyond her.

A black scaled dragon approached the barred door of her cell. In spite of her situation, in spite of her entire life being ripped away from her, Zecora got to her hooves and stared the dragon in the face. “Atramentous,” she spat the dragon’s name at him.

There was mirth in the dragon’s red eyes. “What a thing you are, Zecora.” He spoke in a voice that seemed too quiet for a dragon. “All I want is for us to get along, and yet you force me to imprison you.”

“You want from me that which I shall not give,” the zebra said through gritted teeth, unconsciously bringing her legs closer together. “I would rather die than choose that way to live.”

Atramentous sighed in defeat. “Ponies or zebras, you lesser creatures are all the same. I will take the choice away from you if I must.” He moved away from the door and took out a device Zecora recognized: an alchemist’s inhaler. It looked miniscule in the dragon’s claws. With ease he packed the inhaler with something foul smelling.

“What are you doing? What is that?” Zecora moved closer to the bars.

“This?” He motioned with the inhaler. “I’m not a very patient dragon, you see.” A puff of fire from his lips heated the contents of the device he held. The smell began to fill the room. The dragon brought his mouth to one end and sucked in the smoke.

Understanding dawned on Zecora. She rushed to the back of her cell.

In a long exhale, Atramentous filled her cell with the drug’s smoke. The overpowering aroma brought the zebra to her knees. They scraped the floor as she coughed uncontrollably. So thick was the smoke that she couldn’t see outside her cell.

“See you in the morning, Zecora,” Atramentous said, the fading sound of his footfalls the only way Zecora could know he was leaving. The way he said her name made her skin crawl.

The scrapes on her knees suddenly didn’t hurt at all. Her thinking felt strangely sluggish. “What… what did you do to me?!” Zecora screamed.

Atramentous’ laugh echoed through the prison.

Four months after meteor…

The small green dragon gestured grandly. “And this, my lord, is your new throne room.” Beyond him was a large hall carved out of the mountain. A throne made from the skulls of ponies stood in front of a wall decorated with fine tapestries depicting dragons subjugating other smaller species. To either side of the throne were deep grooves cut into the stone. Moss covered the three remaining walls in patches, away from the blue burning torches.

Atramentous stood in the entryway to the throne room and surveyed it. Standing beside him, leash running from a collar to the dragon’s belt, was Zecora. She swayed slightly. Half her face was covered by messy hair. Her good eye seemed to look at nothing.

The black dragon reached down and cupped the zebra’s head. “What do you think, Zecora?”

She smiled at being acknowledged. Acknowledgment usually meant more pellucid. “It’s wonderful.”

Atramentous laughed. He released her and motioned behind him. Dragons carrying large sacks rushed into the hall. They ran to the grooves in the floor and began pouring out treasure. Gems and gold overflowed from them in moments. The sight of it made Atramentous lick his lips. “Everyone out!” he ordered.

Every dragon within the hall filtered out, shutting the stone doors behind them. The black dragon walked into the hall. Zecora stumbled forward as her leash went taut. Atramentous ran his claw through the pile of treasure. “Have you ever seen so much treasure, Zecora?” The zebra shook her head. “Not even Celestia had such riches… ”

Celestia’s name made Zecora stiffen.

Atramentous turned his gaze to her. “What do we say about Celestia?”

Zecora shook. “Celestia is dead.”

In a quick motion the dragon scooped the zebra up and laid her on her back on top of the treasure. It would have been uncomfortable for her had she not been so high on pellucid.

“Say it again,” Atramentous said, his breath hot on her face.

Zecora knew what was coming and a small part of her mind cried out. But the voice was so far away, and it was so hard to hear, and it was so much easier to just…

“Celestia is dead… AH!” The dragon fell upon her. The voice was drowned out completely by a tidal wave of sensation. She clung to him as best she could. The process was difficult because of their difference in size, but Zecora tried to move with him.

More pellucid if it’s better…

The next days turned to weeks and then months. Time lost all meaning as Zecora found escape in the pellucid. Some days she would lay in Atramentous’ bed unmoving as the drug overcame all her sense. Some days the dragon’s mood was darker than his scales and she found herself locked in closets or chained in dark holes, crying out for the drug’s embrace.

And some days she was tossed out into the city to fend for herself. Dragons slowly converted pony homes into more accommodating ones. The ponies that had once lived in the city were slaves to the larger creatures. Slaves or meat.

Those days in the city were the worst for the zebra. As a rarity, she was known by the pony slaves as the king’s property and avoided. The dragons, not wishing to upset their lord, also avoided her. She would wander through the city until hunger and exhaustion overwhelmed her. A royal guard watching her would then collect and return her to the mountain castle.

Zecora had no friends. The only ‘love’ she received was from Atramentous, and only when he was in the mood for it. There was no one for her to hold onto, she had nothing...

There was only the pellucid.

Two years, five months after meteor…

The bubble rose gently into the air. It reflected the world upside down and multicolor. Zecora looked into her upside down self. She imagined herself floating away with the bubbles.

“… Zecora?”

The zebra turned to the blue pegasus pony in the bath with her. Her wings had undergone pinioning, removing her ability to fly. A sponge was held between her front hooves. Zecora nodded and the pony began scrubbing her.

Gold adorned nearly everything in the lavish bath around them. Gems studded the high walls and distant ceiling. They would have instilled awe in anypony, but to Zecora they were no more than rocks. She leaned out of the bath to take a breath from her inhaler.

The pony washing her gently pulled her back into the water. Confused, Zecora resisted but forgot what she was doing a moment later. She kneeled in the water, letting it come up to her chin.

“Zecora,” the pony said gently as she washed the zebra’s back, “you don’t need that drug, you know… ”

“What?!” Zecora exclaimed. “Did I do something wrong? Are you taking it from me?”

“No! No… just relax… ” the pony looked over her shoulder at the closed door. When no one entered she let out her breath. She stroked the zebra’s mane. “I’m just… you can live without it… ”

But Zecora wasn’t paying her any attention as she again went for her inhaler. The pegasus was quick to pull her back into the bath again. “Zecora… I need to talk to Atramentous.”

“The king doesn’t talk to ponies,” the zebra parroted the black dragon’s own words. She struggled to get closer to her drugs.

“He needs to talk to me.” Splashing the water, the pegasus positioned herself between Zecora and the inhaler. The zebra started to whine. “Listen to me, curse it! It’s about the Red Queen!”

Zecora froze. She put her hooves on the pony’s cheeks, her mind suddenly snapping to attention. “Do not speak about the queen, the king will give you more than a pinon.”

The pony spoke fast while she had the zebra’s full attention. “Atramentous needs to know about this. Los Pegasus is in danger. You will take me to him.”

“I… Menny’s in danger?” Emotions churned inside Zecora. If Atramentous dies… I can have all the pellucid… The pony was saying something about the Red Queen again. If he doesn’t know…

Zecora wrapped her front legs around the pegasus’ neck and pulled her head under the water. The pony struggled, lashing out at the zebra. “It’ll be mine, it’ll be mine!” Zecora said again and again. Water splashed everywhere.

Soundlessly the door to the bath opened. “What in Tartarus is going on in here?!” yelled a dragon guard. Claws grabbed pony and zebra. Muzzles were snapped onto both of them. “The king isn’t going to like this, Zecora!”

Half the torches in the throne room were put out, giving the room an even more foreboding feeling. Atramentous lounged in his throne of bones looking bored as Zecora and the pegasus were carried in. They dripped soapy water from their manes and fur.

The black dragon motioned for the guards to leave. They deposited the two muzzled creatures in front of the throne before exiting. Yawning, Atramentous asked, “What have you done now?”

Zecora, knowing a misstep here would mean no pellucid for hours, carefully removed her muzzle without breaking eye contact with Atramentous. The pegasus beat her to speaking, however. “My lord, Los Pegasus is in danger from the Red Queen.” The black dragon’s eyes narrowed but the pony continued. “She is planning an invasion aimed at the city’s destruction.”

Atramentous laughed. “The Red Queen gifted me with Los Pegasus and its ponies so that I would not oppose her when she became ruler of Equestria. Why would she risk her own destruction now?”

The pony raised her chin higher. “Basalt.”

All mirth disappeared from the dragon. “What about him?”

“There is a rumor spreading that the Red Queen attempted to execute him-”

A black claw shot out and grabbed the pony around the throat. “She would never defy me in such a way!” He brought the pony to his mouth. “It’s been some time since I’ve had live flesh… ”

The doors to the throne room burst open. A juvenile red dragon trailed by two green dragon guards entered. “My lord! I have news from Baltimare!”

Atramentous casually dropped the pegasus to floor. “Basalt? What are you doing back here?”

Basalt took a knee before the black dragon. “The Red Queen has put a bounty on my head. I was forced to flee.”

“What?!” Atramentous shot to his feet. He scowled. “Zecora, leave us!” The zebra was quick to scurry away. “You,” the black dragon pointed at the pegasus, “you stay.”

Zecora was all but ignored in the days that followed. Dragon councilors rushed in and out of the throne room with ancient documents. These were soon replaced with dragons versed in military matters. The castle was purged of anyone nonessential, including the zebra.

She and the score of pony servants were relocated to a dwelling not far from the castle. The pegasus, who Zecora learned was named Lilac Sky, was given a room bigger than her. It irked the zebra whenever she thought about it, but those thoughts quickly drifted away like all the others.

Two years, nine months after meteor…

Time again slipped away from Zecora. She was brought back to reality by Lilac visiting her. Without anypony to watch over her, the zebra’s hygiene had degraded. The smell from her was enough to make Lilac grimace.

“Zecora, come. It’s time to clean you up.” The pegasus gingerly wrapped her front legs around the zebra’s and pulled. Zecora clung to the inhaler, making no motion to get up from her bed. Sighing, Lilac motioned behind her. Several ponies entered.

“Hey! Let me go!” Zecora cried out as they grabbed her. She screamed when her inhaler fell to the bed. “LEAVE ME ALONE!”

Lilac Sky yelled over her. “I don’t care how far you’ve fallen or how much you’re going to hate us, I’m not leaving anypony behind if I can help it!”

Two years, ten months after meteor…

A feeling of suspense had settled over Los Pegasus, and for the first time in years, Zecora was able to notice it. Over the last month, Lilac Sky and the other ponies living with her had weaned her off pellucid as best they could. Urges still struck Zecora and she would become violent at the drop of a hat, but those episodes were becoming less frequent.

The zebra stood on the rooftop of her home and looked out onto the city. Situated on the mountain, she could see all the way to the ocean. Dark clouds had brought rain that never seemed to end. Few dragons soared through the air anymore. Even fewer ponies navigated the streets. The city seemed to be holding its breath.

“It’s refreshing, isn’t it?” Lilac said. Zecora turned her head to watch the pegasus walk from the doorway to the edge. “They used to flaunt their strength like they owned the world and now they cower in their homes.”

Zecora looked worried. “You shouldn’t talk so, they will come to take you.”

“Look around, Zecora!” The pegasus stood on her hind legs and spread her front legs wide. “They’re too busy worrying about the Red Queen’s army to care about us!” She smiled from ear to ear. “It’s perfect.”

Zecora still felt worried. She did a 360 just to make sure no one was around. The pegasus laughed. “How do you know so much?” the zebra asked. “How do you know the Red Queen and her army is coming?”

Lilac’s smile faltered. She looked around for herself for any curious dragons. “I have a brother in Baltimare: Master Sky. He’s been sending me information about the Red Queen.” Again, she looked around. “That’s all you need to know.” The pegasus turned for the door.

A fit of anger welled up inside Zecora. “What do you get out of this? If the Red Queen and the dragons fight, we’re all going to die!”

Everything got darker as the clouds overhead got thicker. Lilac stared at Zecora, rain dripping down her mane. “Do you want to stay a slave forever? Fucked, beaten, debased because your master feels like it? Will you run to the bomb shelters like a good dog when the magic starts flying?”

“It’s better than dying!” Zecora screamed.

“’I would rather die than choose that way to live.’ You said that!” Lilac pointed with her hoof at the zebra. “I heard you! Did you think you were alone in those cells?” Zecora looked shocked. “You’re the reason I kept searching for a way out!” She marched up to the zebra till they were nose to nose. “I’m going to get you, and everypony else, out of here, and then no one will have to die! We’ll be free!”

Zecora’s breaths came in gasps. “I said that… ” It hurts… where is it? “I… ” Make the pain go away… The zebra dropped to her knees and wailed. “Stop it! I’m not her anymore! I can’t!”

Lilac Sky wrapped Zecora in her front legs and hugged her to her chest. The zebra sobbed, her tears mixing with the rain.

A dragon roared in the distance. Both pony and zebra shivered in the warm rain.

Two years, eleven months after meteor…

Like Lilac Sky said it would, the magic started flying. It was dawn but the clouds were so thick that day it might as well have been midnight. The earth shaking woke Zecora.

Lilac burst into her room. “It’s time!”

In the chaos that followed, Zecora saw more death than she’d ever thought possible. Dragons fell from the sky in droves. Magic lit up the clouds, revealing red zeppelins outfitted for war.

Within a few hours she and a flood of ponies were on the trail out of Los Pegasus and towards Ponyville. Knowing it to be destroyed, they turned for Appleloosa.

Days later, the refugees arrived.

Three years, ten months after meteor…

Zecora woke with a start. An enormous black shadow towered over her. She stifled her scream and sparked on the lantern beside her bed. The shadow disappeared back into her imagination.

She took a few moments to catch her breath. No matter how long…

Appleloosa had grown substantially from the influx of ponies. What had once been a town barely hanging on was turning into a bustling city.

Zecora walked a partially paved road in the rainy afternoon. Not many ponies meandered the streets due to the constant rain. Every happy pony she saw was a small comfort and reminder that her days of darkness were behind her.

Her doctor visit that day stole that comfort away.

He gestured halfheartedly to an x-ray. “We’ve found a tumor in your brain. I’ve seen this in patients who’ve taken pellucid for many years.”

“… can you remove it?” Zecora asked, knowing the answer already.

“I’m sorry, we don’t have anypony here who can perform that kind of procedure.”

“… how long do I have… ?”

“We’re not certain. It could be days, months, even years, if ever. We have a support group that meets every… ”

The doctor’s words slowly faded away.

Dying. I’m dying.

She started to laugh, tears streaming down her face.

I never really escaped at all.

Four years after meteor…

The journey to the only place she had ever felt home had taken her months. Zecora stood in front of her burnt hut with two dwindling saddlebags on her back. The trees around her were barren. Only the rain could be heard.

I’ll join the others, like I should have that day…

She opened the door to her hut and peered inside. It was exactly as she had left it, mess and all. Without a word she pushed her saddlebags inside and closed the door again.

The warm rain felt nice as Zecora walked toward Ponyville. She had never really stopped to enjoy it. Maybe I’ll find some stored food at Pony Joe’s. Then I-

The park between Everfree Forest and Ponyville was filled with the skeletons of ponies propped up, their hair glued to their skulls and their bones strung together.

“That’s… not real… ” the zebra walked over to one. “No… no pony would… ” She reached out and touched it.

It fell to the mud with a splash.

Zecora wanted to scream. She wanted to cry and wail and lash out. But she couldn’t find it in her. Everything in my life has been defiled…

A voice from Everfree Forest made her jump. She rushed behind a tree and watched. A yellow pony with pink hair skipped into view. “Fluttershy… ?”

The pony turned at the voice. Their eyes met. The world came to a screeching halt.

And then Fluttershy kept on skipping into town.

That was Zecora’s breaking point. Her strong façade shattered.

Without a sound she slunk back to her hut to await death.

For Zecora, however, death would not come.

Every day a small package of food sat outside her door. Zecora was worried at first about the food’s origin and Fluttershy’s sanity. At the end of the day, though, the zebra didn’t care what game the pony was playing. She ate the food willingly while staying within her messy hut.

One day, however, Zecora was peeking out her door at the rain when Fluttershy came into view. The pony was clearly walking towards the hut with a determined look on her face. Nervous, Zecora stumbled away from the door, hitting it so it opened slightly. The zebra rushed to her room and crouched down in the darkness just as Fluttershy opened the door.

“Hello?” Fluttershy called softly. “Zecora? It’s me, Fluttershy.”

Zecora kept quiet. Something seemed off about the pony, but Zecora wanted to believe she was wrong. Maybe she’s alright…

“Ah…um…” The pony gulped. “Um… Zecora, if you’re here, is this what the Mayor wanted?” Fluttershy was looking at an empty glass bottle.

What?

“Uh… ” coughing once, Fluttershy covered her mouth with a hoof, “The bottles there are what she desired, take but one before they are expired. Thanks!” The pony took the bottle and put it in her pack. As she turned to leave she said, “Come again with light, and you will not have a fright.” She froze before saying over her shoulder, “I’ll, um… bring some light next time… ” She ran out of the house.

Zecora sat in the darkness for a few moments before curling into a ball and crying herself to sleep.

The next time Fluttershy arrived Zecora brought her hooves to her ears to block out the sound. She could still hear the pony talking both to her and for her. The zebra rocked back and forth slightly. Finally, she removed her hooves to tell the pony to go away.

“… I’ll be back in a couple of days with some bandages-”

“NO!”

Fluttershy nearly fell from shock. She stared at where Zecora lay.

“Ah…” Zecora said shakily, “I am perfectly healthy, fine and dandy.”

Though she looked like she’d seen a ghost, Fluttershy said, “Alright… well, see you, then.” She walked out of the house without another word.

Zecora sobbed softly.

Zecora ate little in the following month. She wanted to stop altogether, to let death embrace her, but she couldn’t. I am a coward.

“… help… ”

A tiny voice startled her. She lay perfectly still in the dark hut.

“… help… Zecora… ”

“… Fluttershy?” the zebra got to her hooves. Something strange occurred to her: the rain was letting up outside. She walked to her door and peeked out.

“… Ponyville… help… ”

The voice seemed to come from the rain itself. It vibrated all around her but was as soft as a whisper. “I… please, just leave me alone… ” Zecora said softly.

“… I need you… Zecora… help… ”

Those words struck Zecora. To be needed, to be wanted, again, stirred up emotions in her she had thought long dead. Before she realized what she was doing she was running towards Ponyville.

The loud rain suddenly turned to quiet snow. Confused, Zecora slowed to a walk. Ponyville was strangely empty of all the skeletons she had seen before. What’s going on?

A scream turned her head towards the hospital on a hill overlooking Ponyville. The sight she saw nearly made her piss herself in terror: an enormous snow creature holding a screaming Fluttershy. The creature's face looked strangely familiar to her.

The voice she heard from the rain was barely audible. “Zecora! The heaters!”

Shaking, the zebra looked all around until she saw them: large space heaters positioned inside several homes around her.

“The red house!”

Zecora ran to the heater in the house painted red. The snow creature was getting closer. Nearly hyperventilating, the zebra searched for some kind of controls on the outside but found none. She ran inside and found the ‘on’ button. Her hoof smashed into it.

Outside she heard the creature roar in pain as heat shot up at it. Her courage spent, Zecora ran out of the house and all the way back to her hut. She never once looked behind her.

A few days later Zecora woke to find more food than she thought one pony could carry piled high outside her door. Snow was starting to fall. Fluttershy must know something I don’t…

After a few days she was snowed in, trapped in her hut. She spent the time cleaning. A feeling told her that her relationship with Fluttershy would be very different when the snow stopped.

Five years, six months after meteor...

After what seemed like an eternity, Zecora opened her door and took a breath of fresh air. She could hear a voice in the distance and smiled. Fluttershy…

A common game she had used to pass the time was imagining spending time with the yellow pony. She still seemed sweet and caring, and Zecora imagined all kinds of scenarios. The zebra blushed as she thought about some of them.

Running, Zecora caught sight of Fluttershy as she was entering the park but stopped. The pony was holding something lovingly: Pinkie Pie’s corpse. Feelings battled rationality inside Zecora.

Slowly, she turned back for home.

Some weeks passed. The food she had been given for the winter was almost gone and no new food had arrived. Zecora stood in the open doorway to her hut. Her eyes stared at nothing.

I was a fool… she doesn’t want me… she-

“ZECORA!”

The voice she had previously heard from the rain came from the snow instead. It drilled into her mind. The vision of an alley in Ponyville appeared in front of her clear as day.

She ran.

Days later…

“… Dodge City was vital for trade between Ponyville and cities past the Badlands,” the zebra explained. “The meteor destroyed Ponyville and set fire to half of Dodge City. They had no choice but to migrate to Appleloosa.”

“Which is also abandoned,” said the shocked pony.

Zecora walked over and sat beside Shy. She drew a line with her hoof across the map. “When Appleloosa became too crowded, everyone went west to Los Pegasus.” The zebra became morose a moment. “Many ponies died during the journey…”

“You were there? In Appleloosa?” Shy pressed.

Zecora looked into Shy’s eyes. Not the truth.

Slowly, Zecora nodded. “After I had seen what happened to Ponyville I fled south to Dodge City, and then to Appleloosa, and then on to Los Pegasus.” The zebra remembered everything that actually happened: being captured and enslaved. The memories rushed in.

“What happened in Los Pegasus?” asked Shy impatiently. “Zecora!”

The zebra jumped in fright and fell backwards away from Shy. She started gasping, holding her chest as if her heart was trying to burst from it. Gradually she realized where she was and relaxed. “I… I don’t want to talk about Los Pegasus… ”

Five years, ten months after meteor...

“I love you!” Zecora blurted out. Shy froze. The zebra began to sob. “I love you. Please don’t leave me alone.”

Shy stayed perfectly still for a full minute. When she spoke, she did not turn to the zebra. “I hate you,” was all she said before walking out of the hut.

Zecora wailed, tears streaming down her face. Again… it’s all happening again… why does this keep happening to me…

“… Zecora… ” Zecora gasped. The voice from the rain called out again. “Zecora… ”

“Yes! I’m here, Fluttershy!” The zebra ran out into the rain but the pony wasn’t in sight.

Still, the voice was clear. “Shy needs you still… watch over her… please… ”

Zecora nodded over and over. “I will… ” She sniffled. “I’ll protect you…

“… I love you, Fluttershy… ”

Chapter 17 - Somewhere to Lay: Part Three

Five years, eleven months after meteor...

The darkness was oppressing in its completeness.

Falling like a waterfall, the rain made it that much more difficult to pierce the gloom. An occasional ripple of lightning illuminated rolling clouds for only an instant. The wet world below reflected the light in every direction.

Gilda felt the downpour slowing. She stared down at the silhouette of the pony lying on her back. A single drop of water dripping from a feather sticking out of her head distracted her. Her raptor claw came up and smoothed her head feathers to the side.

The pony stirred.

The griffon cocked her head to one side. “You still alive, pony?”

Lightning lit the sky overhead. Further away from the griffon lay another pony-like form. Gilda saw blood on the armored pony’s face in the moment the light touched the earth.

“Oh, I see... ” Gilda took a few steps around the armored pony towards the second form. “This one saved you. What a waste.” The rain continued to lessen. Only a few drizzling drops fell upon the griffon as she walked. “Why sacrifice yourself for someone who doesn’t want to live?”

More lightning revealed the form for what it was: a zebra. The armored pony was looking now too. Her eyes were wide with shock. “Ze… Zecora?” she said softly.

The rain had stopped completely and Gilda was able to hear the name, though she didn’t recognize it. Below her the zebra made a small sound. With a sigh, Gilda angled her spear downwards. “You’re both unworthy of my spear. Be gone from this world.” She stabbed down at the zebra’s head.

Two long, white feathers of a wing pinned the tip of her spear midair, halting it completely. The owner of the wing was out of her sight. Gilda’s years of combat allowed her to react aggressively, pulling her spear back and stabbing to the side where the wing originated.

Her spear was halted again. She turned with a growl. “Who-”

Princess Celestia held Gilda’s spear at bay with her wing. She stood a single yard away from the griffon. The alicorn’s eyes were cold as the snow that began to fall. “Get away from my subject,” she said maliciously. Her wing snapped back, knocking Gilda and her spear backwards.

The griffon fell back a few steps. Her mind raced, trying to make sense of what was happening in front of her.

Celestia’s wings opened. Gilda realized something was coming and tried to steady herself. The alicorn flapped her wings once in the griffon’s direction. Snow and wind slammed into the Clan Mother, tossing her into the air like a ragdoll.

The roof of a house wasn’t enough to stop her momentum. Pain overwhelmed her like nothing she had ever felt before as she crashed into the home. It all happened so fast that her thoughts couldn’t keep up.

No… she thought as she lay in the heap of rubble, this isn’t as bad as when Signy died… nothing will ever be that bad…

On her shoulder, Rainbow Dash’s skull felt heavier.

Shy watched Celestia blast the griffon away from the corner of her vision. A quiet thought noted that the alicorn wasn’t in her ice queen drapings. Another quietly understood that she had probably never looked like that at all, and that’s why Fluttershy had always called her Celestia and not Skadi.

But those thoughts kept getting pushed away by the sight of Zecora’s still form. Shy rolled herself onto her stomach so she could stop craning her neck. “Zecora? Hey… what did you do…?”

The pony felt Celestia’s eyes on her. “I’ll deal with you in a moment,” was all the alicorn said before shooting off after the griffon.

Shy wasn’t paying her any attention at all. She started crawling towards Zecora. “Hey… answer me… what did you do?” Her face felt sticky and the mud resisted her movement but she pushed on.

Darkness made the zebra appear motionless, but Shy saw a minute amount of motion. She’s still breathing.

Why wouldn’t she be? She’s fine.

Everything… is…

Revealing light from the turbulent clouds above showed Shy the truth. Zecora had shielded her from the blow with her side, ripping her almost in half. The lightning from the spear had cauterized much of the injury and temporarily prolonged the zebra’s life.

But Shy knew Zecora was going to die.

What amazed her was how calm the zebra had looked. She wasn’t screaming or crying or cursing the pony. She looks so…

“Zecora?” Shy put her face inches from the zebra.

Zecora spoke between ragged breaths. “… Shy?”

Shy wasn’t exactly sure what she wanted to say. “Why’d you… you… ”

“… You… ok?”

“Am I…? You’re dying!” Shy felt suddenly angry. “You’re fucking dying! I don’t care how I am, I never did! I’ve never done anything for myself, I-” The zebra said something softly that Shy missed while she yelled. “What?”

“… Ok?”

“GAH!!!” Shy screamed and hit the ground next to the zebra with her hoof. “YES I’M FINE, DAMMIT!”

One of Zecora’s front hooves touched Shy’s cheek. It was so dark the pony didn’t see it till it touched her. “…s’ok… ”

Shy didn’t know whether to cringe away from the zebra’s touch or lean into it. “It’s not ok… you were supposed to leave, why didn’t you?”

A lick of lightning let Shy see Zecora again. The zebra’s eyes found her own. “… Fluttershy… ”

And in that moment Shy knew: it had never been about her. Zecora had latched onto Fluttershy, and so she had endured Shy tormenting her. There were never any real feelings between them.

“… Because I can’t feel anything.” Shy moved away from Zecora. The zebra’s hoof fell to the mud. “I can’t feel joy, or happiness, or love. I told you that, but you stayed for her.”

Zecora’s breaths started to come more rapidly. “I love… you… all of… you… ”

Shy shook her head slowly. “You lying BITCH!” She pounced on the zebra and pressed her hooves down on her throat. Zecora struggled weakly, hooves pushing the mud in a vain attempt at stopping Shy. “You never cared about me!”

“Shy! Stop!” Fluttershy wrapped her front legs around Shy and tried to pull her away. Shy swung her front leg out and knocked the other pony away. Fluttershy landed in the mud, holding a hoof to her face.

“GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!” Shy screamed at Fluttershy. “This is all your fault! Everything is your fault!” The blood staining her body felt hot. She turned to tower over the pristine pony.

Blood dripped down the otherwise pristine pony’s face. “You hit me… ” Fluttershy said in shock.

Shy couldn’t take her eyes off the blood. Everything else around them was cloaked in black except Fluttershy and the red on her face. The armored pony looked at the claws she wore. “I wanted to save you. Then I wanted to be you. I wanted more than anything to know how it felt to be alive. And now I know... to be alive is to suffer!” She lashed out at Fluttershy. The other pony gasped and disappeared an instant before the blow would have hit her. “Run, you bitch!”

A sound turned Shy’s head. Skadi attacking the griffon. The pony took a step towards the sound but stopped. She looked down at Zecora. The zebra wasn’t moving at all anymore.

She’s dead.

For a moment Shy didn’t believe her own thoughts. The one other being in her hell of a life was gone. She never cared about me anyways. It was all a lie. My entire existence is a lie.

Snow flittered down through the hole in the roof. Gilda watched it fall in silence. Strangely, it stood out from the rest of the darkness. What’s wrong with this town?

The snow shook.

Princess Celestia appeared on the roof, looking down at Gilda through the hole overhead. The sight of her made the griffon tense up. She fought against the pain and stood. Silently, the alicorn descended.

Before she hit the ground, Gilda swung her spear up at her. Lightning cracked wildly off the tip. Celestia again turned it away with a casual flick of her wing.

“What the fuck are you?!” the Clan Mother screamed. Never had her spear been turned away from her target.

“Have I already been forgotten?” Celestia said, her voice echoing around the small home. Her eyes held more anger than Gilda had ever seen a pony have. “I am your princess.”

“You died!” Gilda stabbed at the alicorn’s face. Celestia bit down on the tip of the spear as it reached her. Lightning licked her cheeks but she didn’t seem to notice. Her fiery eyes made Gilda’s knees weak. With one bite, the princess shattered the head of the spear.

Magic exploded outwards. Gilda flew through the air again, tumbling through the wall behind her and back outside. She groaned in pain and shock.

A cold wind made her look up from where she lay. Princess Celestia stood over her. She looked down at her like she was nothing more than a bug to be squashed. “You died… ” the griffon said again.

The alicorn smiled wickedly. “I cannot die.”

“Celestia!” the armored pony yelled. Both the alicorn and the griffon turned their heads towards her. Even in the dark, the red blood on her face and armor was visible. She walked towards Celestia with her head high. “That’s enough.”

“Wait your turn, Shy,” Celestia spat at the pony. She focused her attention back on Gilda. “I swear, ponies become more insolent every ye-”

The armored pony punched out with her front hoof into Celestia’s side. Her claw entered the alicorn like a knife through butter, blood gushing out of the hole. Celestia cried out in pain and fell away.

“Go back to your hole with Fluttershy!” said the armored pony. Growling, blood running from her mouth, Celestia started to disappear. The snow that had heralded her arrival ended as well, but the rain did not return.

Fluttershy, thought Gilda. The element of harmony? Things started to make slightly more sense to her, though she was still terribly confused. She looked at the skull of Rainbow Dash on her shoulder. Somehow, Gilda saw something within the hole of Rainbow Dash’s eye. Lightning?

LIGHTNING

Her muscles tensed up as it cascaded through her from the skull. All her wounds crackled with blue energy as they healed. She shut her eyes, her body glowing from the lightning.

Though she would have loved to enjoy the thought of Celestia in pain longer, Shy realized something was happening to the griffon. Lightning sparked from her feathered body to the ground. She stood tall; all the damage done to her by Celestia gone. Just like the monster, she’s gained some sort of strength.

Well, so have I.

The warm embrace of the blood covering her calmed her raging emotions. All thoughts outside of what was to come faded away. Only the griffon bathed in lightning filled her mind. I will kill you because that is what I do. I will make you suffer because that is my purpose.

The griffon's golden eyes shot open and locked onto Shy. She said nothing, and didn’t have to for the pony to understand. In that world where darkness covered everything, they stood out to one another like beacons.

Laughing insanely, Shy charged forward. She swung her right claw out in a slash in hopes of gutting the griffon. Blue light pulsed and the griffon was suddenly a step back. Undeterred, Shy continued forward with a slash of her left claw.

This time the griffon attempted to block the attack; her right claw whipped down and collided with the pony’s claw. Lightning exploded at the connection. Shy’s left front leg was thrown wide, dislocating her shoulder and melting the metal claw on her hoof. The molten steel burned flesh. The tremendous force of the blow spun her around. With her left claw, the griffon grabbed the pony’s right front leg, causing another lightning explosion.

Shy cartwheeled through the air. Her right claw, melted like the left, flew away into the night. She landed on her dislocated front leg, tearing muscle. The pain made her want to throw up. Rolling to her stomach, the pony kneeled, trying to get her back legs under her.

The griffon was there in a flash. A lion’s paw hit her in the stomach with enough force to lift her into the air again. The lightning that pulsed from the blow entered Shy, scrambling her thoughts and locking up her muscles. Another exploding blow hit her midair and she hurtled away again, pieces of body armor flying away.

Before she hit the ground her thoughts caught up with the situation. I have power, I know I do! Fluttershy does, Celestia does! WHERE’S MINE?! The griffon blood covering her front hooves felt boiling hot. An instant before she hit the ground, it raced up her front left leg and jerked it back into place. Shy rolled along the ground for a moment before coming to a stop.

… Blood…

It spread from her remaining armor to to every inch of her body. Her exposed fur glowed crimson. All the pain from the relentless assault faded. In a smooth motion she hopped from her back to stand on her two back legs. The action made the griffon halt her advance.

“Sorry,” Shy said flatly, “I’m ready now.”

Screeching like a wild animal, the griffon zapped forwards in a blast of electricity. Shy barely followed the incoming attack with her eyes. Instead, her body reacted on instinct. She stepped back and to the side, dodging a downward slash trailed by lines of lightning. A bloody afterimage of herself was sliced in half.

Shy balanced herself and punched out with a blood drenched hoof. The strike connected with the griffon’s ribcage, lifting her off her paws diagonally away. As her lower half rose past Shy’s face, the pony stepped in and wrapped her front legs around one of the griffon’s lion legs. She whipped the griffon over her body to slam beak first into the mud. Roaring out, Shy squeezed the griffon’s leg against her body, crushing it.

The half-lion cried out. Lightning pulsated out from her, exploding as it made contact with Shy’s remaining armor. The pony slid backwards in the mud. Her heart skipped a beat and she curled up in pain. Melted armor fell off of her in chunks. Slowly the pain subsided, but when she coughed she tasted iron.

Electricity was arcing off the griffon in all directions. Her broken leg was bathed in it, twitching as the bones re-set. Shy shakily got her back legs under her again. I have to deliver a killing blow or we’ll be fighting forever.

Getting to her own paws, the griffon seemed to come to the same realization. “Pony,” she said, sparks on her tongue, “I acknowledge your strength. Become my servant and I will let you live.”

Images of Fluttershy watching her, commanding her, keeping her caged in Ponyville flashed through Shy’s mind. “I’m done with being somepony’s puppet. You’re going to have to kill me.”

Sighing, the griffon’s lightning enhanced body crackled with energy. “What a waste.” Instantly she was beside Shy. The pony tried to turn but the griffon’s slash came quicker. Crimson trails followed the griffon’s claws away from three deep gashes on her front leg.

Shy grit her teeth, still turning to face the griffon. But the griffon had seemingly teleported again. The next blow came to her back, tearing the remains of her armor away from her. Electricity jolted her.

You want to do fucking tricks? I can do some fucking tricks!

Blood lanced out from Shy’s exposed wing wound like a blade. It pierced the griffon through the stomach and out her back. The damage was minimal but it confused the griffon, slowing her. Shy spun around and the blood blade tore through intestines as it exited out the griffon’s side. The sound the beast made, shock mixed with intense pain, brought a smile to Shy’s face.

You’re mine now!

Moving like it was alive, the blood on her front legs ran down to her hooves and solidified into large claws. They felt completely natural to Shy, as if she had been born with them. She grabbed the griffon’s wrists and looked up into her golden eyes.

Gilda looked down into the pony’s blue eyes and knew death was coming. She tried to make herself zap away like before, but the lightning couldn’t break her free from the pony’s grip. Her struggling seemed to amuse the pony. It infuriated Gilda. “Do you know who I am?! I am the most powerful griffon in Equest-”

Thick, bright red blood on the pony’s face surged around her mouth, making long, sharp jaws.

“FUCK YO-”

Shy bit onto the griffon’s chest with dragon-like maw. Gilda felt each tooth tearing into her body. Pain stole her breath, drained her mind of all thought. All she could do was watch in awe as the pony tore chunks of her away with every bite.

At least it wasn’t a male…

An owl tentatively hooted into the night. High above, the clouds broke their hold on the sky. A massive full moon revealed the world for all to see.

Shy stood over the remains of the griffon. Gore covered her face and body. The blood drenching her hair made it feel heavy. In the moonlight she could truly see the extent of the violence she had inflicted upon the other creature. There were chunks of feathers, meat, and bone all around her.

A female out of her sight gasped. “What the fuck… ” The pony looked towards the voice. A score of griffons were approaching, weapons and claws raised. Leading them was a female griffon with light blue splotches of color on her white feathers. She stared at the remains of her Clan Mother. Growling, she pointed at Shy. “Kill her!”

The griffon’s behind her hesitated.

“She killed the Clan Mother!” the female griffon yelled. “As your new Clan Mother, I-”

“Who says you are?” a male in the front of the clan questioned.

“She has no spear,” another male chimed in, “she has no title.”

“Silence!” the female screamed, but the murmuring continued. Sudden movement within the pack caused a stir that cascaded. Weapons were swung and blood flew. Shy watched quietly as the griffons destroyed themselves.

It was over in moments. The remaining males outnumbered the females two to one. Sensing defeat, the females threw down their weapons. One of the largest males called out commands and was obeyed.

There is a Clan Father now, the pony thought.

Nodding, the male turned to Shy. Though she felt weakness seeping into her limbs, she knew she could kill half of the group of griffons before they killed her. The male seemed to realize it as well. “Let’s go, there’s nothing for us here,” he told his clan.

They turned and walked into the night.

Shy waited until she felt they were gone before taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly. Ungraciously, she fell to the ground into the gore. Her muscles felt like jelly. It took effort to push the pieces of griffon away from her face so she could breathe better. As she did, she caught sight of Zecora.

I healed myself… maybe I could…

Without thinking, she started crawling towards the zebra. Her lower legs wouldn’t move, so she had to drag her body with her front legs only. She managed a few hooves before starting to slow.

Come on… I’m going to fix you, you stupid bitch… I’m going to make you suffer for lying to me… you’re going to make me breakfast, lunch, and dinner every single day, and you’re going to do anything I say when I say it… you’re going to forget about that cunt Fluttershy… you…

You’re going to mean it when you say…

Shy fell to the mud, unconscious.

Her eyes opened to daylight. Cloud cover kept much of it at bay, but the world was visible to her again. The first thing Shy saw was Zecora. Flies covered the wound in her side.

Shy curled up into a ball and stared at nothing.

Because nothing is all I have.

Three days later…

The pink maned pony sat in front of the slab of stone she had placed on the grave. She hadn’t moved in hours.

Steel raised his rifle up and steadied himself. When he had lined up his shot, he fired. A gem the size of a nail shot out of the gun. The pony jerked and fell forward onto the stone. A red line of blood ran down the center of her back.

“That is how you kill a pony,” the iron dog gloated. He stood up from where he knelt inside the ruins of a house. Several other iron dogs stood from their hiding spots as well. An iron dog moved carefully from the tree line near the pony to where she lay. He brought his paw to her neck.

His nod to Steel confirmed the kill.

“Gather up!” the iron dog leader yelled. “We’re heading home!”

Thick, white outlines were the only things making the black buildings of Ponyville stand out on the black background. Skeletal ponies stood silently, outlined in white, insides black. Everything appeared as if from some old cartoon’s fever dream.

Fluttershy poked her head around a white outline of a home. A few pony lengths away was the outline of Shy lying against the stone grave. Taking a breath to steady herself, Fluttershy rushed forwards towards the other pony’s still form. Her hooves were outstretched in front of her as if she were diving.

Shy turned and grabbed Fluttershy’s front leg with a bloody claw. The pristine pony gasped. Smiling, Shy pulled Fluttershy closer so they were face to face.

“Got you.”

Author's Notes:

This chapter really got away from me. When I thought of it I thought Shy would feel angry at her own inability to feel. But as I wrote it and incorporated information from previous chapters into it, things got out of control. I don't write knowing exactly what's going to happen, just a general idea of how the chapter starts and how it ends and maybe a few things in between. I try and let the characters come out as much as possible through me. This leads to things like Shy becoming violent with Zecora even though she's already dying. The ending of this chapter was also a complete curve ball for me. I knew it was going to end on a cliffhanger but not one so insanely dire.

That's not to say I don't know what's going to happen for the rest of the fic. I know EXACTLY what's going to happen all the way to the last chapter, so don't worry about that.

All I know is I am as excited as I hope you readers are as Part Three begins to wrap up. The next chapter, Skitter, tells the back story of the iron dogs.

One last thing: I love reading big reviews or ideas of whats going on, good or bad. Tell me what you think!

Chapter 18 - Can You Hear Me Yet?

Five years, eleven months after meteor...

Sunlight pierced the petrified tree’s empty limbs. The bare bark had a grayish tint to it from the scalding it had received from the meteor. Sun, rain, snow, and more rain had eroded the limbs down. It would never return to its former glory.

At the tree’s base, however, life sprouted anew. Tiny shafts of green poked out of the muddied soil; plants that had flown on the breeze to the lifeless town of Ponyville. The wind was the only sound that could be heard, gently pushing the little leafs.

Beside the tree stood a single tombstone, and lying over the stone was a yellow pony with short pink hair. A single line of blood ran from the wound in the center of her back where a bullet had penetrated her. She appeared dead, shot precisely in the heart.

But her body jerked as she sucked in a massive breath. She coughed it out. Her motions forced her off the tombstone and into the mud, covering her side. For a few moments all she did was gasp for oxygen. The wind picked up and pushed a tumbleweed into her. It bounced off her convulsing form and continued on its way.

After a few minutes she stopped gasping, her breath coming easier. She lay in the mud quietly. Her eyes slowly closed.

“Fascinating,” said a gravelly male voice.

The pony practically jumped to her hooves. She stood upright on her back legs, balancing perfectly, her front hooves raised defensively. The sticky mud she’d been lying in pressed her hair against her face. She tried to wipe it away quickly.

Standing three pony lengths away from her, upright and relaxed, stood Steel, the iron dog. His rifle was slung across his back. Extra ammo pouches hung from his belt, crystals poking from them. Long, red crystals with metal covering one end were nakedly sheathed at his hip. His eyes watched the pony with the same coldness his mother saw when she named him.

“I killed you, shot you right in the heart, and you got up as if nothing happened,” he continued, unblinking. The pony stayed silent. “We watched you fight those griffins. You have some sort of immortal power, yes?”

Pink hair blew back as the pony charged forward. Steel stepped in and to the side, his rifle coming around to slam the pony across the face. She fell hard onto her back. The dog twirled his rifle to face downward at the pony’s open eye. She froze.

“Immortal, but not very smart,” Steel chuckled. “Still, it would take too many resources to properly kill you.” He slung his rifle back over his shoulder and knelt so he was face to face with the pony. “This town is ours now. Be gone before we come back, or I’ll nail you to the entrance as an immortal warning.” The pony moved to strike him but he was faster. His fist collided with her face, knocking her out.

Steel stood and stretched. In the brush around six other iron dogs stood up. “Alright,” Steel declared, “NOW we can go home.”

After the meteor crushed pony society and relations between the two species crumbled, dog society closed its gates to the outside world. A headstrong Guard Dog took control, turning the military loose on his own people to keep them under control. Unbeknownst to him, a rebel faction had revived the ancient ways of the Iron Dogs and prepared to return the dogs to the old ways.

But unbeknownst to them all, the meteor had shook loose a long forgotten entity from her prison. A horror from the days Discord reigned rose from the belly of the mountain and threatened to consume everything in her path. With no other course left to them the Guard Dogs joined the Iron Dogs to fight back the monster, eventually killing her. The cost, however, was too much for the shattered society. It was with a cold heart that Steel took the reins from the Guard Dogs and enacted the very policies he had rebelled against.

All to save his people.

Steel’s six dog escort consisted of the last remaining original Iron Dogs. Comet, Slip, Emmy, Tooth, and Ebony walked silently behind him along the trail. The pony homes had long since vanished in their wake. Dead trees pointed dried limbs at them accusingly. Still, every so often a bird flew by, and the buzzing of a few insects could be heard as well.

“This place sucks,” remarked Slip. He picked his tooth with a red bone. “Why are we even here?”

Steel shot him a glare. The other dog snapped his mouth shut. “Don’t ask questions you know the answer to, Slipper.” Slip’s lip twitched at the mention of his hated nickname. The leader of the Iron Dogs knew he was being unnecessarily cruel. There is a time for all things. “Stay in formation. It is a long walk home.”

They spread out into a V with Steel in the middle of them, the point, Comet, leading. Slip’s absentminded complaining reminded them all why they were there: food. Dogs could only grow so much under the ground. Canterlot had been a wasteland, devoid of any farmable soil. But Ponyville was a paradise of fertile land. Fertile land and dead ponies, thought Steel.

Nightfall came quietly. The specter of Ponyville was miles behind them now. Steel stared into the fire the dogs had built for warmth. A ceiling of clouds overhead threatened rain but were, for now, content to silence. Rain will slow us down. The Iron Dog leader rubbed one end of his blood soaked bandana between two clawed digits. Would it have slowed us down back then?

Comet kicked Emmy lightly in the side to wake her. “You’re watch.”

Emmy grumbled and rolled off her pack. She noticed Steel before she moved to her post. “Can’ s’eep, bose?” she asked in her heavy accent. Growing up a stray dog meant never truly learning how to speak or act. The only thing it ever meant was knowing how to survive.

“This is enough rest for me,” Steel replied softly. “Go keep watch.”

“Is’all dead.” Emmy patted a nearby tree with a gloved paw. “Nothin’ ta wach.”

The glare Steel replied with next sent a shiver down Emmy’s spine. “That pony wasn’t dead.”

The female dog nodded again and again as she backed away into the woods. Steel sighed and resumed his stare into the fire.

Something woke him. Steel jumped to his hind paws, his pistol in his hand like magic, his eyes taking in everything. His team jumped awake from his motion. Metal barrels pointed in all directions. Dawn turned the clouds overhead shades of red. To Steel it looked as if the world was on fire.

Comet hissed, “What is it?”

“I don’t know. I… where’s Emmy?”

No one responded.

They found what was left of her at her post: a fallen tree they had used as a seat. Her blood had refused to seep into the dried wood, instead leaving a dry layer of itself where she had sat. Some of her fur and what may have been a leg or arm laid a few paws length from there.

None of them spoke. Steel himself had seen his friends ripped to pieces before. He had watched others die in equally gory fashion. The remains of the Iron Dogs beside him were the same. Inside, they felt no disgust, rage, or sadness.

“Whatever did this did it without leaving a trail,” commented in a monotone Comet. “It took her body, so it most likely ate her.”

Steel removed his bandana. The other dogs did the same. One by one they rubbed their crimson bandanas against Emmy’s blood. Ebony said something quietly while she absorbed what was left of her comrade. No one interrupted her. They’d always been close, Steel sighed to himself.

He patted her on the back when she was finished. “We’ll move faster now; reach the mountain by nightfall.” Ebony nodded, her eyes never leaving Emmy’s final resting place.

The pace Steel set was brisk. Metal jingled and echoed throughout the trees around them from their packs. Steel would have never set a pace like this before, regardless of the circumstances. They were making too much noise.

But he noticed that nothing else was. There were no birds, bugs, or any living things making sound anymore. The forest was as dead as it appeared. And that made Steel as nervous as he had ever been. It killed Emmy for food, but it didn’t leave. It’s still here.

Slip, true to his name, fell trying to make a jump over a root. He’d always been clumsy but had learned to cope with it by being able to return to his feet quickly. The rest of the team knew this and continued moving. Something got the better of Steel and he spared a glance back.

The Iron Dog Slip was halfway to his feet, and a bright red claw was slashing sideways at him from behind. Without thinking, Steel grabbed his pistol from his side holster and lifted it. But he had no time. He watched the claw enter Slip’s side like he was made of water. Its nails were so long it poked out the front of his torso as it made its way through him. The dog’s upper half fell to the left, his lower half to the right.

Steel growled a scream, his body twisting to turn and fire. His eyes tried to trace the claw back to its owner so he could have a better shot at its face. The rest of his team turned around as well, raising their guns.

The claw retracted behind a tree in an instant. Steel rushed towards it while firing. His pistol held six crystals; three of them went through the dead tree where the claw went. The Iron Dog whipped around the corner and fired straight ahead.

His shot hit another dead tree, but nothing else. His eyes told him what his brain couldn’t believe.

The creature was gone.

Something grabbed his leg. Without thinking, Steel shot downwards. The crystal ripped through Slip’s arm and severed it from his body. The dying Iron Dog stared into his leaders eyes.

Steel put his remaining bullet through Slip’s head.

They ran no more. Ebony moved Slip’s body to the side while Comet sniffed the area for any scent of the creature. Steel refilled his pistol with spare crystals from a pants pocket. He stood in the still wet pool of blood where Slip fell. His boots, new ones he had bought for the trip, soaked up the gore.

Comet jolted upright. “Got it.”

“We go when Ebony returns,” Steel said softly. Tooth, till then, was so quiet the rest of the team almost forgot he was there, played with the extra crystals he had gathered off Slip’s body. “Knock it off.”

“It’s not hungry,” Tooth snapped. “It’s hunting us because we came here. We entered its land without thinking, without knowing any better! Like pups!”

Steel punched the ranting dog in the jaw. “Shut up, Tooth! Get your shit together!”

Comet walked over to the other two, Ebony beside her. “Let’s go.”

The leader of the Iron Dogs stood over his subordinate. “Ya’ gunna fuck aroun’ more?” he yelled down, his accent slipping out.

“… I got it boss, I got it.” Tooth rubbed his jaw and stood. “We kill it and go home, yeah?”

Sighing, Steel punched Tooth lightly in the arm. “Yeah.” He turned to Comet. “Take us to it.”

What they found wasn’t the creature, but the rest of Emmy. Beside a clearing, she hung upside down from a tree, her impaled legs holding her up. The blood had been drained from her.

Comet kicked the dirt. “Fuck!” Tooth and Ebony moved closer to the body.

Steel felt a drop hit his head and looked up. The clouds had gotten thicker throughout the day. “Fuck… ” he said softly. “We can’t stay out here.”

“We corner ourselves, we’re fucked,” Comet kicked up more dirt as she stomped around. “It needed to be here… ”

“Enough, Comet… ”

The female dog huffed but stopped complaining. Steel watched her, his thoughts rushing back to when they first met.

“I don’t care what they called you in the pit you grew up in. Your name is Comet now.”

He shook his head. “We’ll head towards the caves to the southeast. If we only give it one entrance we’ll have a better chance of shooting it.” Steel adjusted his pack and turned away from Emmy. “Let’s go.”

Comet and Tooth turned to keep pace with him. Ebony stood still, her eyes locked on Emmy. “I want to stay here,” she said softly.

“Here isn’t safe,” Tooth hissed. “We can’t defend-”

“I don’t want to defend anymore. I don’t want to… ” Ebony’s words trailed off. Steel heard the tremor on her voice. He closed his eyes.

“Boss, ‘Bony an me needa talk ta’ yous when we’ ge back.”

The Iron Dog rubbed his face and sighed. It must be nice to be able to dream. “Comet. Tooth. Let’s go.” Steel turned from his comrades and started away.

The last two of his oldest companions followed.

Rain threatened the cave entrance but a slight incline kept it out. It echoed deep into the darkness as it poured down. Steel stood at the cave mouth looking out, though he couldn’t see far. Further in, Comet and Tooth sat quietly on opposite walls. There was enough room for them to stretch out but both of them were curled up. Steel couldn’t look at them.

This is what we were made for: to fight and die. We were never supposed to live this long in the first place. They should be happy they got this far.

A flash lit the darkening world a moment. Seconds later, Steel heard a boom. Anything else was drowned out by the downpour.

Ebony… I can’t even carry you with me…

Steel jolted awake. How long-

Inches from his face, obscured by the rain, was something enormous. It lunged into the cave so forcefully he was pushed to the ground. Something stepped down on his leg, crushing it. He screamed in pain even as he brought his pistol up. The rounds entered the creature from point blank range. Hot liquid splashed down onto his arm. He emptied his ammunition into the thing.

It recoiled completely out of the cave and back into the rain. Steel couldn’t see the extent of his injury in the moonless darkness. Gritting his teeth, he took out a long, red crystal from a holster and scratched it against the side of the cave. It flared to life, revealing the damage.

His leg was twisted from the knee down. Bone peeked out from his tattered clothing.

“Fuck… Comet!” Steel twisted and held the light up to see into the cave.

Tooth’s body was exactly as Steel remembered it; however he no longer had a head. Comet looked as if she had risen to right the creature but it had gotten her first. Three long, dark lines showed across her chest and stomach. She lay on her back breathing heavily.

Steel rolled to his stomach and crawled towards her. It was only a few paws length but his broken leg scraping against the ground made it feel like forever. When he was beside her he collapsed.

“… Boss… ”

“… Yeah?”

Comet coughed. It sounded wet to Steel.

“Sorry, I didn’t catch that.”

The female dog laughed. “Did you kill it?”

“I don’t know… ”

“Then what are you… still doing here?”

“… You ah bitch… don’ leave… ”

“… Sorry… ”

The leader of the Iron Dogs lay quietly, listening to Comet’s breath get shallower until it stopped.

From the pit of his stomach he felt something heavy form. He tried to fight it. Rolling, he got to a sitting position against the side of the cave. Have to fix this fucking leg and then… His eyes found Comet. She was always so…

For the first time in years, Steel wept.

The splint wouldn’t have won him any awards, but it let him hobble out of the cave. Even though it was the dead of night the rain hadn’t let up at all. His sense of direction told him where home was. His only thought now was to make it back and mobilize his people against this new threat.

He made it a few paws before stopping. Though he couldn’t see it he could feel it in front of him, blocking his path. It made no sound or motions.

“Fuck you!” Steel yelled, firing his pistol from the hip. He could sense it moving to the left and tried to follow it but his leg gave out. Mud cushioned his fall. It covered him as he rolled to evade the attack he felt coming. A loud splash where he just was told him he had dodged well. He tried to reload his pistol but the mud on his hand caused it to slip out into the dark.

Fucking mud! Fucking earth!

EARTH

One and a half days earlier…

Shy tightened her grip on Fluttershy’s front leg. The other pony let out a small whine.

“You’re hurting me… ”

“Good… Where’s Celestia?”

“No need for that,” came the haughty reply. Shy looked away from Fluttershy to watch Celestia slowly walk towards her. “Sorry I missed the ceremony,” she said, pointing a wing at the gravestone.

“Say something stupid again and I’ll kill you both.” Shy released Fluttershy with a flick of her wrist.

The yellow pony tumbled back, landing on her rump with a squeak. “Shy, you’re alive!”

“She stopped the bullet by hardening her blood and then slowed her heart rate, keep up,” explained Celestia, her look telling the world how much she despised the smaller pony. She turned her attention back to Shy. “It’s Celestia now?”

“It was always Celestia,” answered Shy, “wasn’t it?”

The larger alicorn smiled. “You shouldn’t answer a question with a question.”

“What did I say?” The clawed pony took a step towards Celestia. The alicorn took a step back. Shy smiled. “Still hurting?”

“Why did you do that, Shy? You could have been killed!” blurted out Fluttershy.

Shy glared at her lighter reflection. “So I could finally get some answers from you two. First of all-”

“Sorry,” Celestia interrupted her, “But that’s not going to happen.” Shy turned slowly to the alicorn, claws clenching and unclenching. “Hurt us all you want but we can’t tell you anything. We both agreed.”

“Mhm!” Fluttershy nodded quickly. “I’m sorry, but we can’t…”

Shy stood quietly a moment. Her eyes stared at nothing.

Fluttershy gulped. “Shy… ”

When the shadow pony looked down at Fluttershy, her eyes were completely dead. “You won’t tell me, you can’t tell me. So what good are you?” She lashed out with a claw.

Fluttershy screamed in fear and disappeared into smoke before the attack connected.

Shy’s scream held only rage.

Somewhere between Ponyville and Canterlot…

The blood that covering every inch of her felt warm even in the rain. It flowed over her fur and through her hair. It was a part of her, though it hadn’t come from her. She felt some of it was being washed away slowly.

She wanted more.

Though she couldn’t see anything she knew the diamond dog was there in front of her. The things it had shot at her from its gun had removed some of the blood. But he had plenty more inside him.

Shy slashed out at where she had last heard the dog rolling. Her blood claw connected with something hard. Dirt? She slashed again from a different direction. Something stirred underhoof and again she hit dirt. What?

A red light bloomed into life. Its sudden appearance blinded her. Something slammed into her midsection and sent her flying into a tree. The blood covering her shielded her from the damage but more of it fell away.

Illuminated by the light in his hand, the dog stood covered in mud. Shy saw mud undulating over his leg. His eyes glowed orange.

Again?!

Shy’s scream came out as a roar, the blood over her face forming an adolescent dragon’s. The dog showed no fear.

I will give you something to fear!

Her claw lashed out. A tree spun, catching her attack. Another fell atop her and forced her to the ground. She thrashed under it, ripping it apart.

When she rose to her feet again the dog was gone.

Her roar echoed through the woods.

Even with the strange power keeping his leg together and speeding him through the woods, Steel could feel the monster at his back every step. There were thoughts in his head telling him to fight and die, to rejoin his comrades. But the louder thoughts told him to run back to his people, to warn them.

The rain began to lighten as he reached the mountain. His team left a mine cart behind for him with a crystal powered motor. As soon as he got in his dirt cast fell apart. Steel gritted his teeth against the pain. “Fuck you!” he yelled as he turned on the motor.

Humming softly, the motor spun the cart’s wheels and Steel began his ascent.

Shy reached the mountain in a daze. Most of the blood covering her had melted away in the rain, leaving only patches of the stuff. Her claws remained intact, however, her rage keeping them together. In her state her thoughts came in slow, single ideas.

Dog running to the mountain.

Dog running up the mountain.

She stared up at the mountain in a vain attempt to see the dog she was chasing. What she saw, however, was smoke coming from the side. There!

Using the last of her strength, Shy climbed. Her claws dug into the rock, her front legs strained to lift her, her back hooves found the grooves her claws created. The rain continued to slowly melt her power away until the only red on her were her claws.

She lifted herself over the side of a cliff and fell onto her back. Her breathing came in quick gasps. The odd sensation of the blood washing away vanished. It’s all gone now.

But I’ll never be rid of it.

Shy stood on shaking back legs. The smoke she had seen was coming from inside the cave just ahead. “Come out… dog… ” Putting one heavy leg in front of the other, Shy approached the cave.

Steel allowed himself to drift off while the mine cart sped up towards Canterlot. There was little he felt the creature could do to him at this point that it hadn’t already, and he was more tired than he had ever felt in his life. The complete darkness inside the mountain helped him fade into sleep.

The rain woke him. He was outside again, speeding over the repaired bridge into Canterlot. His thoughts were cloudy. Too much has happened, how do I explain it all.

A soft glow appeared around the cart. Steel had a single moment to process it before he was upended out to topple into the dirt. It was a phenomenon he had seen many times when he was younger and had hoped to never see again.

Magic.

“Hey, I’ve found another one!”

Shy fell to all fours and gasped. The physical exertion mixed with lack of sleep of the past two days was taking its toll. No! her mind screamed, I won’t let him live! She forced herself back to her hind legs and continued until she breached the cave entrance.

The tunnel turned sharply ahead. She could hear a fire burning and someone moving.

Got you! Her anger spurring her on, Shy rushed around the corner.

An adolescent dragon jumped at her entrance. Confused, Shy fell to her back knees.

“You’re not… You’re… ”

The dragon’s expression went from startled to shocked.

“… Spike?”

Author's Notes:

If you find any glaring grammar errors please let me know!

Chapter 19 - The Catalyst: Part One

Five years, eleven months after meteor...

The crude campfire filled the cavern with a smoky smell. Orange flames reflected off a few scattered pieces of gold, the moist walls, and the dragon’s slick green scales. One of the burning logs popped and splintered in half. The sound of it rang in both the pony and dragon’s heads.

She said his name again, slowly, carefully. “Spike?”

He towered over her at least the length of two ponies. His spines and snout had grown longer, and all of him had grown larger in kind. It seemed he had gone through an amazing growth spurt in the years since Fluttershy had seen him last.

Sounds came from the dragon’s throat but no words were formed. His claws flexed and relaxed seemingly without thought. Emerald green eyes jumped from Shy’s blood stained fur, her cut hair, and her missing wing. Finally he was able to speak a single word. His voice was deeper than the pony recalled. “Fluttershy?”

Shy was too exhausted to become enraged by the dragon’s mistake. Still, she couldn’t help responding, “That’s not… ” She couldn’t complete her correction. The ground suddenly came rushing up to meet her and the world went black.

Hours later…

Agonizing pain shot up Steel’s body from his leg. His eyes shot open. “Gah! Fucken’!”

“Shut up!” came a male voice followed by a swift hoof across his muzzle. Steel grit his teeth and growled. In the dim light his pitch black eyes focused on the pony standing over him with its teal fur and long horn. The ground he lay on was hard and cold but wasn’t dirt. Stone walls around him rose high into the darkness. I’m inside the castle…

A swift hoof kicked his stomach. “Stand up, dog! The Prince wants to see you.”

Steel bit down his pride and tried to stand. His torn leg wouldn’t support his weight, however, and he tumbled back to the ground. He growled in pain. “I can’t walk, pony!” he spat.

Grumbling, the unicorn turned to another of his kind. “Get a medic. I’m not carrying this filth.” The pony he spoke to huffed but did as he was told, walking leisurely away.

It was several minutes before the medic came. While he waited, Steel took the chance to examine his surroundings further. He was in what appeared to be a guest bedroom of the castle. From the way the carpet was pushed and his body felt, he realized he had been dragged in. There was a bed a few paws from him that no one had bothered to toss him onto. The window was boarded up with magical precision.

The unicorn medic sneered the entire time he was bandaging Steel’s leg. After a less-than-satisfactory wrap and splint, the medic turned around without a word and left. At the glare from the teal unicorn, Steel tried to stand again. This time his leg supported him, though it felt numb and dead.

It’s going to have to go… fuck…

“Walk, dog!” came the command from the unicorn. Steel hobbled towards the open doorway, the unicorn behind him. When they got into the hall the stallion laughed softly. “You’re a pretty good dog, you know that?”

Steel growled but kept hobbling forward. So much stone… if only I could get outside… underground…

The Iron Dog’s thoughts faded away as he took in the situation around him. Morning light streaming through boarded up windows was aided by fire floating by magical means. It revealed dogs of all statuses as Steel was guided through the castle. Some lay dead on the cold stone, blood oozing from cuts so fine no blade could have made them. Some could be heard sobbing behind curtains accompanied by the sounds of exertion. Most huddled together in the castle’s dark corners in vain attempts to be invisible.

It chipped away at Steel’s failing morale. Is this what we are reduced to? Freedom given and denied?

His stallion guard escorted him deep into the castle to what Steel knew was the throne room. He had seen it drawn in a few different books but the sheer size of it made him slow his step in awe. The stained glass windows were still in perfect condition along with the carpet and throne itself. Light streamed through these windows in greater volumes than the rest of the castle as if the glass absorbed it. Sitting on that throne was a stallion with the whitest fur Steel had ever seen. Though he was not as large as Celestia, his presence filled the large seat as well as the room.

Using a hoof to push his blond hair to one side of his horn, the stallion locked his blue eyed gaze on Steel. Alarms rang to life inside Steel. He stopped. The unicorn behind him started to yell at him.

In a smooth motion that ignored every ache and pain he felt, Steel lifted his arms up and stepped backwards. He brought his arms down around the stallion’s neck and whipped them out in an instant. The sound of the unicorn’s neck snapping rang to the rafters.

Steel was spinning around towards the door before his victim’s body fell. The massive double doors he had come in through glowed white and slammed shut. The dog spun again, arms up and ready.

He was alone in the throne room with the white furred stallion. “You are Steel, yes?” the unicorn asked quietly. A shiver ran down Steel’s spine.

Something isn’t right! What the hell are you, pony?

The stallion let out a scoff. “I suppose I shouldn’t assume you know the difference between a pony and a stallion. Come closer, would you kindly?”

Worms started crawling through Steel’s brain. His claws came up to his head but he resisted digging through his own skull to get them out. There’s nothing there, that isn’t happening!

Eye’s widening, the stallion cocked his head to the side. “Interesting, you’re resisting. Only one other pony was ever able to do that.” His blue eyes looked over to one of the stained glass windows. “Well, not a pony. Her dimwitted pet…”

Steel, teeth grit with the mental strain of not killing himself, followed the stallion’s eyes to a stained glass depicting six ponies. With them was a small, green dragon.

“Of course,” the unicorn continued, “He’s got the element they all want.”

Meanwhile…

A coughing fit that shook her body woke Shy. Her dry throat cracked and she spat blood onto the cave floor. Something shuffled next to her. She rolled to her side to quickly see what it was. A bucket sat a hoof beside her.

“It’s water… ”

The pony arched her body to see where the voice had come from. Spike sat where she had first seen him upon entering the cave. Embers rose from the remains of the fire in front of him. It gave off just enough light to make out his outline.

So it wasn’t a dream…

Slowly, keeping her eyes on the dragon, Shy got to her knees and drank from the bucket. He kept his eyes on her as well. She noticed his claws continuing to clench and relax. It was then she realized why. He’s deciding whether to kill me or not.

A wealth of emotions filled Shy at that moment; Fluttershy’s shock and disbelief, Celestia’s anger, Shy’s own confusion. There was too little information for her to make sense of the situation, but she knew if she didn’t say anything the dragon would make up his mind without her.

“Why are you here?” she asked when her throat was thoroughly wet. It wasn’t the most well thought out question, but Shy wasn’t going to start pretending to be Fluttershy to get emotional points.

The dragon answered automatically as if having been asked the question before. “I don’t like camping with the army.” He cringed at his own response upon hearing it.

Shy ran her tongue over her teeth. You’re not watching your words, are you, Spike? “The army is here? Where?”

“Canterlot,” came the instant response, but this time Spike stopped himself from saying more. His claws clenched tightly.

Shy gambled on what could have been her final question. “Why do you think you need to kill me?”

Spike’s eyes widened. “I don’t… I’m not going to hurt you, Fluttershy!” The dragon visibly relaxed, his claws running down the sides of his scaled legs.

Saying and doing are two different things, Shy thought.

“I just… ” Spike ran his claw over his head and neck, his spines folding over and flicking back up as he did so. “How are you alive? I thought everypony… ”

Shy had to fight back the retort. “I was lucky,” she answered truthfully. “Or unlucky, depending on how you look at it.” She stood up straight on her back legs. “A lot has happened.”

The dragon looked at her skeptically. “I can see that… A lot has happened for me too, but… ” Again Spike began to look nervous. “I think you should come with me, Fluttershy.”

Celestia’s voice whispered into Shy’s ear, no. For once, the pony agreed with the alicorn. “And what if I don’t want to?” she said in return.

Spike’s face turned down. Shy thought he looked a bit heart-broken. His right claw thrust out at her, a purple glow surrounding it. Instantly, the glow surrounded her as well, covering her head to hoof. It locked her in place, giving her just enough space to breathe.

Magic?! The alicorn inside her head hissed and raged but stayed within the confines of the pony’s mind. “Spike, what are yo-”

Before she could finish her sentence the world warped around her. Her stomach almost brought up the water she just drank. Within the span of a heartbeat she was suddenly somewhere else. The morning sun warmed her body and the smell of fresh rain filled her nostrils. In front of her rose a high gate that blocked out row after row of building.

Canterlot!

The purple glow dissipated from her, allowing her to turn around. Thrusting high into the sky stood the Canterlot Castle. Spike stood to her side, right claw raised. His voice was devoid of any previous sentiment and his eyes were steeled. “Come.”

Shy shifted her weight towards the gates. The purple glow returned around Spike’s claw and the pony felt resistance against her.

“You cannot run. Come, now,” the dragon commanded.

The stallion’s voice deeply growled to his right, just out of sight, “What does he want? Why is this happening?”

The same voice, though quieter and harsher, came from his left, “How does he know what I’m thinking? What magic is this?”

“No magic,” answered Prince Blueblood from the throne. “You yourself have a similar power, if only you knew how to use it.”

By this time Steel’s sanity was unwinding. The stallion was all around him and within him, answering his thoughts without the dog making a sound. I have to get out of here! I need... I need earth!

A tremor shook the castle for an instant. Blueblood looked up at the falling dust. “Earth? I see…” The mirror images of the stallion dissipated from around Steel. The crawling things inside his head abated. He fell to his knees, drained. The Prince continued, “An element of harmony has taken up residence inside you. I don’t know why it chose you, no pony does, but you have been given a rare gift.” He held out his hoof. “Join us, Steel, and become a part of the new Elements of Harmony!”

Steel stared up at the stallion in utter confusion. He spoke between gasping breaths, “The… the elements are a pony story… pony magic… I can’t have one… ”

Blueblood laughed mockingly and shook his head. “We were all told such lies too keep us complacent. The elements of harmony, as we call them, are older than any civilization on this planet, as old as gods. They choose anyone or anything to represent them. And the element of earth,” he pointed his hoof at the dog, “chose you.”

Slowly getting to his feet, Steel kept his gaze locked on the Prince. “And you have one as well?”

Prince Blueblood’s smile sent a shiver down Steel’s spine. “Yes, I do. Each element has a mirror, a counter if you will. I hold the counter to her pet’s element… ”

Dogs of all shapes and sizes were being violated all around them as they walked through the castle. Shy kept her eyes forward, Spike behind her ready to counter any move she made. A few of the stallion guards gave her strange looks as she walked on two legs with blood still staining much of her. None approached, however, seeming to want to keep out of Spike’s way.

Her situation held her complete attention. He can use magic… that’s impossible, dragons cannot use magic. That purple glow as well…

The pony looked over her shoulder, “How are you using magic? A leftover from Twilight’s power?”

Spike’s face twitched at the mention of his former surrogate. “No… how much do you know about what’s been going on?”

“Little to nothing. My only contact to the outside wasn’t very talkative.” An image of Zecora popped into Shy’s mind. She was sad, scared. Not now.

Shy heard Spike stop walking. The pony turned around and looked up into his face. The dragon looked confused. “Then you don’t know about the Red Queen? Or the reason this all happened?”

Both Fluttershy and Celestia rustled inside Shy’s mind. Answers! “No, I don’t,” Shy said as calmly as possible though she wanted to burst. “Tell me.”

Spike looked off to the side, searching for words. They had stopped on a balcony walkway overlooking Equestria. Clouds spread to the horizon, glowing from the sun. Only a small stone railing, crumbling with age, separated them from a sheer drop to oblivion. “Celestia… lied to everypony. She used her magic and the elements of harmony to keep herself alive for over a thousand years. The meteor killed her once and for all, setting everypony free… ”

For a moment Shy stood quietly processing everything the dragon had revealed. Then, she burst out laughing. “Free? You call this free?” She raised her hooves to the castle around them, voice rising with them. “Ponies raping and slaughtering as they see fit!”

“Celestia kept us from moving forward!” Spike yelled back, his words sounding repeated. “She kept everypony complacent so she could keep ruling over us all, taking over the bodies of the ones she needed! Twilight would have been next!” Tears streamed down his face. “She loved Celestia, and she was just using her!”

And suddenly everything made sense to Shy. Inside her mind, Celestia smiled. The back and forth between them was instantaneous.

You’re… really Celestia. You’ve been trying to take over this body this entire time… Shy thought, shocked.

Celestia laughed softly. Caught!

How? How are you here if you needed Twilight?

The former princess seemed to lean in closer. Who said I needed Twilight? It’s impolite to underestimate your betters…

I can tell them you’re inside me! They’ll-

They’ll kill you, Shy, Celestia spoke with a tone of finality. They’ve killed thousands already to try and kill me once. They’ll realize I’m within you and kill every element of harmony for the rest of time.

Every… Shy looked down from Spike’s face to his claw. Element… “You’re the Element of Magic, aren’t you, Spike?”

The dragon nodded slowly. He wiped his eyes with the back of his claw. “After Twilight… died… I was able to use magic the way she could. The Red Queen explained to me that the elements needed hosts, and that I had been chosen as one.”

Kill every element…

Fire… lightning… earth… magic…

…water…

A tremor shook the castle for an instant. Spike lost his footing and leaned forward. Within that instant, Shy sprang. She hit the dragon’s midsection as hard as she could. There was an audible crack from the impact against his soft underbelly and the dragon doubled over. Shy followed up with an uppercut to Spike’s lowered face. The blow whipped the dragon’s head up but the weight of his body kept him falling. The pony would have been crushed underneath him had she not continued the uppercut motion and spun away.

Spike lay unmoving on the cold stone floor. Shy, breathing rapidly now, reminded herself that she was inside a castle filled with soldiers on the dragon’s side. I really wish I could fly right now, she thought, her one wing flexing. She turned towards the entryway.

“You’ve changed, Fluttershy… ”

The pony froze. Behind her she heard scraping as Spike lifted himself up. She turned, front legs raised defensively. The dragon just kept slowly getting his legs under him, his eyes glowing purple. “You never would have hurt me or anything else,” he said slowly. Something snapped back into place inside his chest.

Shy grit her teeth. It can never be easy, can it? “I am not Fluttershy.”

Spike’s claw snapped forward. Purple surrounded Shy, constraining her. “You’ll tell me and the Prince what happened to you. Walk!” Magic forced the pony to turn and walk.

Prince Blueblood combed over the knowledge he had acquired from the dog’s head. His past did not concern him except for one recent exchange. “You fought with some kind of monster on the way back from Ponyville, yes?”

The dog, Steel, nodded wearily. “Something attacked us. I don’t know what.”

“Interesting,” the pony mused. He leaned his back against the throne. “We encountered nothing on the way here. It was dreadfully boring.” His smile went from ear to ear. “Until we got here and found all this fun.”

Steel growled. “You want me to join you after what you’ve done? You’re insane.”

Blueblood laughed. “I wish I was! It might make it somewhat easier to use these powers of mine. Ah, well.” His horn glowed radiant white. “I’ll at least be able to tell her I tried.” A knock on the throne room doors echoed through the hall. With a sigh, the Prince dispersed his magic. “Enter!” he yelled.

One of the doors creaked halfway open and Spike shuffled in. Steel moved away from the imposing dragon. Blueblood sneered at his elemental counterpart. “What is it? I do not like to be interrupted!”

“Apologies, my Prince,” Spike said, eyes meeting the stallion’s. “But I believe I’ve found another element of harmony.”

Blueblood’s ears pricked up. “Have you? Send them in!” Now I’ll have no problems killing the troublesome one, he thought.

Spike gestured through the door. From around the hardened wood walked a pony on two legs, yellow fur stained red in patches, pink hair cut short. Her vibrant pink eyes met Blueblood’s. The Prince smiled and focused on her, wanting to delve into her mind and break her quickly.

A soft, cold voice whispered into his ear. “What are you doing in my chair?”

The stallion on the throne screamed. It was no scream of pain as Shy had heard many times. It was a scream of pure, undiluted horror. Beside, whom Shy could only assume was the Prince Spike had spoken of, stood Princess Celestia. Before anyone could do anything, she pushed the Prince down the steps of the throne with her front legs. He crashed down them and lay in a heap at the bottom, his scream dying off.

No one in the hall could move, shock gripping them. Celestia, as if nothing was out of the ordinary at all, calmly sat down in her throne and gazed down at them all. “There, much better.”

Yelling in rage, Prince Blueblood’s eyes blazed white. One of his legs transformed into a snake tail and whipped out at the Princess. The appendage broke the throne in half with a crash but passed right through the alicorn. She smiled down at him mockingly. “This seat was far too large for you anyways,” she taunted.

Again and again the stallion whipped the snake tail out until the throne was nothing but dust, and yet still the Princess remained. Chest heaving, the Prince turned around and looked directly at Shy.

“You!” Scales of black and red and orange began covering the stallion’s body. His back left leg grew longer fur and claws, his right grew talons. His tail flicked and split, teeth growing inside. Pale blue eyes became paler in a face slowly turning dragon-like. “She’s within you!”

All eyes turned on Shy in that instant. The steel dog a few steps from her slowly backed away. Spike stood frozen. Shy realized she would get no better opportunity than this and turned to run. Spike’s claw shot out as if possessed and grabbed at her, his fingers wrapping around her remaining wing. She screamed in pain.

“Die!” Blueblood yelled from across the hall. His tail whipped out at her faster than anyone could see. Shy jerked away from Spike as hard as she could.

The razor sharp teeth lining the tail cleanly severed her wing from her. Shock rocked her body. Her legs failed her and she tumbled to the stone floor onto her stomach. A loud ringing in her ears drowned out Spike’s yell and Blueblood’s charge. Shy stared straight ahead, unable to move or think.

Slowly, the ringing faded until there was no sound at all. Everything seemed to slow down to a crawl. Celestia leaned down into her view, her face so close Shy could see the every detail of her pale, magenta eyes. “You don’t look so good,” the alicorn said softly.

Shy tried to speak but no sound came out. Her body wouldn’t move.

“Your body? Is that what it is now?” Celestia came closer. “It was never your body. You shouldn’t even exist. If that yellow Pegasus hadn’t gotten in my way that body would be mine!”

Desperately, Shy tried to move away, tried to lash out and make the larger being tell her everything she wanted to know. WHAT AM I!?

Before the alicorn could speak again, Shy felt another presence outside of her vision. Fluttershy spoke directly to Celestia, her voice squeaking, “You’re wrong. That body is hers now, I gave it to her.”

In a un-princesses-like response, Celestia rose and growled at the pony. “You are my subject! You will do as I command!”

Shy felt Fluttershy’s uncharacteristic mirth. “If you had the power to make me, you would have. You’re just as powerless now as I am.”

“Then it’s time for her to choose!” Celestia again bent close to Shy. “I am Celestia, ruler of Equestria. She is Fluttershy, a wingless Pegasus lording over a graveyard. Choose.”

“Celestia, now is not-”

“SILENCE!” Rage filled the alicorn’s eyes. “I have waited years for the moment I may return to form, and at every step you have denied me!” Celestia shook, her words pounding in Shy’s head. “I WILL HAVE WHAT IS MINE-”

A spike of red blood extended from Shy’s back and pierced Celestia through her body. Her words caught in her throat, blood rising to replace them. Slowly, Shy brought her face closer to the alicorn, their eyes locked. “Go to hell,” the pony said.

Celestia took a step backwards and stumbled out of sight. Shy felt something melt away inside her mind. In moments, the last vestiges of Princess Celestia were gone.

Chapter 20 - The Catalyst: Part Two

Somewhere…

… Somewhere, not even Shy knew where, she stood. Around her Everfree Forest slowly came into focus. She felt Zecora’s hut from behind her, the warmth of the cooking fire inviting. Sunlight bathed the clearing before the home where she stood. Somewhere in front of here, just out of focus, she thought she could see Zecora as well.

“This is what you choose, isn’t it?” Fluttershy asked softly from behind her. “I kept this place perfect for you… For the both of you.”

Shy squinted to try to see Zecora clearly but she just couldn’t. “I spent so long here, so many years… But… ”

“It’s both your home’s,” said Fluttershy to her short haired doppelganger. “By denying Celestia- ”

But Shy shook her head. “I did not deny the Princess to accept you.” She stopped trying to see Zecora. Like mist, the black and white far from her disappeared. “I hate both of you equally. You are both to blame for my pain.”

Behind her, Shy could feel Fluttershy’s disappointment. “You could have everything you wanted. You could have a home, a purpose, a love… Kindness… ”

“My kindness is different from yours, Fluttershy.” The red eyed pony waved her creator off. “Go.”

Sniffling quietly, Fluttershy faded away. “Where will you go… ” Her words echoed into the woods. The greens and browns began to meld into one another until only the memory of a forest could be seen, an abstract rendering of a thought.

Alone in that painting of remembrance, alone with the question of purpose, Shy stared where Zecora once stood and felt her knees weaken. Tears streamed down her face.

A chill wind pushed all the colors into oblivion. Darkness surrounded her, inside and out.

Five years, eleven months after meteor...

Spike swore as Fluttershy fell to the floor, her severed wing in his claw. No! This wasn’t how it was supposed to be! FLUTTERSHY!

For a split second Spike thought he saw a snowflake fall into his vision. In the next, he and everyone else was flying backwards. A freezing wind pulsated out from Fluttershy so strongly that Spike slammed into the castle wall. He slumped to the ground in a daze, the sounds of shattering glass and screaming filling his head.

It wasn’t… this way…

Darkness overtook him and he collapsed.

The wind picked Steel up and shot him through a stained glass window. He tumbled end over end until he crashed into the ground. Somehow he managed not to break anything in the fall, though the shards of glass had cut his back and neck. He lay on his stomach in pain, eyes closed.

Something fell down in front of his face. He opened his eyes and saw the bandana he always wore had fallen off. The blood that had soaked it on top of the constant wear had worn it beyond repair. It was little more than black threads woven loosely through one another now. It stood out in contrast to the small spears of green coming up from the dirt.

The end of my kind…

The dog grit his teeth. Not without a fight! Steel slammed his fist into the dirt and felt something respond. Small flecks of dirt rose and stuck to him. Blueblood!

The monstrosity Blueblood had become was stopped dead in its tracks by the blast of wind. His thousand toothed tail snapped backwards. Claws as long as hooves dug into the stone floor, preventing him from being knocked far back.

“CELESTIA!” his scream more a roar, the words launching themselves from his deformed maw.

Beyond the pony, the double doors were also hit by the wind. They flew off their hinges into the room beyond to the accompaniment of yelling. The prince knew the castle would be mobilizing to his aid but also knew they would only get in his way. I have to end this here and now!

Shy felt a chilling tremor rush through her. The world snapped into motion again, sound crushing into her head. She heard something huge hit the castle wall, something smaller smash through a window, and something enormous roar.

“CELESTIA!”

Guess again! The pony pushed herself up. Blood pumped out from the wound on her back where her wing once was. She felt it covering her back and hind legs. Even though she knew she was losing a lot of blood her mind was crystal clear.

I choose myself.

The sound of wind rushing brought her back completely to the moment. Shy pushed and flipped herself midair, the razor sharp tail of Blueblood slicing into the stone where she once was. As she rolled, she commanded her blood to cover the rest of her body. As the tail whipped back she landed on her back legs. She caught Blueblood’s eyes and he hesitated. Smiling, her blood turning her body from yellow to bright red, Shy said softly, “Celestia is dead, just like you wanted.”

The prince snarled, his tail poised to strike. A low rumble outside made Shy glance towards the window. The monstrosity took that opportunity to strike, this time with his entire body. His black to orange scales streaked through the air, claws reaching for her.

It was at that last moment that the last of Shy was covered in red. She flicked her bloody dragon claws up and parried the prince’s claws. From below him came his tail to slash into her chest. Bone white teeth shattered against her blood armor, but the force of the blow sent her reeling back. The rest of Blueblood came crashing into her an instant later. He was atop her, clawing and thrashing, sending chunks of the stone and crimson flying.

Shy tried her best to ball up and get out from under the beast but he regained his footing first. The snake tail his back left leg had become tried to ensnare her while his maw came down to devour her. Shy’s own face changed as more blood covered it but had not finished becoming the dragon.

Something brown slammed into Blueblood’s side, flipping him off Shy. She took that moment to roll backwards and back to her hind legs. The sound of scuffling behind her forced her peek over her shoulder. Behind her were guard stallions filling the hall outside to bursting, their eyes looking unsure, weapons halfheartedly raised. It only took one growl from Shy’s completed dragon maw to make them lose the rest of their nerve. Many ran, others simply wet themselves.

The distraction dealt with, Shy turned back to the prince. What she saw made her blink in confusion. A tidal wave of dirt had forced its way through the now open window. Standing atop it was the dog she had seen before, the one who had shot her and humiliated her. A layer of brown dirt covered his legs and arms. The tree he had used to knock Blueblood off of her was cracked in half.

The pony and dog locked eyes. Recognition filled his, followed by rage. Blueblood raising back to his mutated legs turned both their heads to him. Before the prince could attack again they stole a glance at one another. A simple contract was formed.

After.

Torn between two targets, Blueblood chose the closest: the dog. He lashed with his tail as he dove at the smaller creature. The dog backed up, arms reaching down to hurl large chunks of solid earth at his pursuer. Each chunk blocked an attack from the monster’s tail but did little else. It was obvious to Shy that the dog didn’t know much about his powers yet. She considered letting the two elements fight to the death but knew Blueblood would win. And then he would launch a crusade against me.

Shy ran forward towards the two combatants. Blueblood reached the dog and slashed wildly. In what appeared to be a last resort, the dog dropped to all fours. In an instant he appeared to slip into the dirt like water. The prince followed him claw first, digging like the thing he was after.

Shy took her chance. Her dragon claws flashed out at the prince’s scaled side. Much of her attack was turned away by the hard armor, but thin red lines showed where she penetrated for a brief instant. Blueblood roared. The pony was batted into the air by his snake tail leg. It whipped out at her again, catching her by the leg and holding her upside down.

The prince’s eyes bled white sparks. “You are nothing to me! I am chaos!”

Like a torrent the dirt under the monster surged upwards, lifting him collide into the ceiling. Shy was lifted high as well, still held by the snake tail. As they both began to fall the pony realized the impact would be devastating to her. She commanded the blood to do something she didn’t think would work but couldn’t afford not to try. While it shifted on her she slashed at the snake tail, severing it.

Halfway to the floor her wings fully formed. She flapped them madly, barely breaking her fall enough to tumble to the floor. Her body bounced as Blueblood landed hooves away from her. Without thought she rolled away from the prince to put some distance between them. Shy saw dirt engulf the monster’s legs in a vain attempt to hold him down.

Blueblood kicked the dirt away. In his thrashing a claw found purchase and the dog came flying out from beneath. The monster’s jaws snapped forward around the dog’s leg midair. His teeth sliced through the dog so cleanly his flight continued uninterrupted. Shy cringed as the dog’s scream was cut off by the sound of him colliding with the throne room’s wall. His body fell to the floor, his breath coming in gasps.

The monster wasted no time celebrating his attack. He pounced on the still form of the dog.

Instantly, the blood covering his front claw pierced his scales and tore the appendage to shreds. Blueblood’s roar of pain and confusion was interrupted by Shy’s claw slashing him across the face. Streams of blood flew into the air. Without proper support, the prince toppled forward. Shy continued her assault by aiming for the beast’s exposed neck. More warm blood covered her.

The pony moved away quickly after the damage was done. She saw that she needn’t have bothered: Blueblood’s crimson blood was pouring out onto the floor. The remains of his front claw had been trying to repair themselves, small chunks of flesh undulating. This had forced his mind off regenerating the rest of himself, Shy guessed. Whatever the reason, the monstrosity that was Prince Blueblood convulsed as his life slowly ended.

Shy kept one eye on the Prince while she moved towards the dog. The smaller creature looked battered but not dead, his chest rising and falling rapidly. A wheezing laughter shot her attention fully to Blueblood. His brilliant white eyes locked with hers and a horrendous smile crawled onto his lips. An oily smell hit her nostrils. The blood oozing from the monster turned clear and gelatinous. Sparks from his eyes fell into it as his laughter grew louder.

“FUCK!” was all Shy was able to scream before the monster exploded.

Residents in Appleloosa and Dodge City where startled by the quake that woke the cities and shattered windows. Those already outside were able to view the spectacle in all its glory as well as feel it. The clouds overhead seemed to run from the source, giving a clear view of it.

Canterlot was as bright as the sun.

Several hours later…

Spike flew over the rubble of Canterlot Castle. The explosion had sent a majority of the city sliding down the mountainside. It was the largest landslide the dragon had ever witnessed, though he had barely had enough time to teleport out before Prince Blueblood exploded.

Fluttershy is… dead…

Some small hope inside of him died. No pony could have survived that blast. He knew he had been a fool to even give it a cursory glance.

Sighing, Spike raised his claw and teleported away.

Somewhere…

…. Somewhere, not even Shy knew where, she lay. It was too dark to see anything at all. Even so, she felt calm. “I’m dead, aren’t I?”

Lying beside her a too familiar voice answered. “No,” Princess Celestia said flatly. The pony broke out in a cold sweat. The alicorn smiled. “Did you think me completely gone? As long as even the faintest memory of me remains, so will I.”

“You say that, but you are powerless,” Shy said through grit teeth. “As you say, you are a memory. You have only as much power as I let you have.”

The Princess’ cold eyes met the pony’s. “You’re right. But there will be a day when your world will shatter around you. When you have no choice but to remember just how powerful I am. And in that moment when you falter, I will rise again.”

“Like hell!” Shy punched the darkness in front of her, cracking through it. She kicked and punched until she was free from the blood cocoon she had surrounded herself with unconsciously. The rubble of Canterlot was all around her. The pony took in a lung full of fresh air and turned to where the alicorn had been in her mind.

A chalk white skeleton grinned back at her, long multicolored hair splayed out around it. The bones of Princess Celestia, hidden somewhere in the castle, were revealed for the world to see.

Shy held her breath for several heartbeats. When it was clear the bones would not move again, she exhaled slowly. “I don’t need you,” she told the bones, “Equestria doesn’t need you.” The pony kicked the blood cocoon‘s side down, covering the alicorn’s bones.

A groan turned her around. On the other side of her cocoon lay the dog. Either by her own will or by sheer luck he had been saved along with her. The bleeding from his severed leg was stopped by a bandage of dried blood. Shy shook her head, not really knowing what she had been thinking.

Grumbling under her breath, Shy picked the dog up over her shoulders and began walking back to Ponyville.

That evening...

Steel’s eyes flew open. He took in the inside of the room in an instant, quickly scanning for any threats. The dim light coming through the cracks of the boarded up window told him it was either morning or evening. His paw went to his gun holster first. Gone. Next to his crystal knives. Gone. Pain shooting up from his leg broke his focus and made him stifle back a bark. He tore a blanket off of himself to reveal his missing leg.

A warming smell filled him. Beside the bed was pair of rusty crutches. Quietly he slipped out of bed and used one of the crutches to hobble to the room’s door. Equally as quiet, he opened the door a crack. Through it he saw the yellow pony standing on two legs stirring a cooking pot suspended in the fireplace.

“Come on, it’s almost ready,” he heard her say. Steel cautiously opened the door all the way. He had to rebalance himself several times. The pony looked over her shoulder at him, her eyes amused. “I’m sure there’s a wheelchair somewhere in the hospital that isn’t completely melted.”

“Why did you help me? Weren’t you trying to kill me?” the Iron Dog spat at her. He felt his next words come out in a flood. “You killed all my friends. You killed the one I loved! We could have defended ‘urselves from those bastards if you hadn’t hunte’ us!”

The pony’s expression turned melancholy. “I took my anger out on you. They didn’t deserve to die, I’m sorry.” She turned back to the pot of food. “I can’t take back what I’ve done.” Her yellow hooves held a ladle aloft and began pouring soup into two bowls. She picked one up and placed it on the table beside him.

“You don’t get it! My entire world is gone!” Steel shook, emotions spiraling. The rusty crutch supporting him snapped and he fell backwards. He didn’t cry out or thrash. The hut’s ceiling overhead came to a point far away. “I have nothing left… ”

“Neither do I,” said the pony. “But unlike you I never had anything to start with.”

Steel couldn’t stop himself from laughing. “Unlike me… I was born a Stray Dog, left to die in the lowest pits of the city. Everything I gained I held onto for fear of being as alone as I was back then.” Tears welled in his eyes. “I am as I was: a Stray.”

The pony sat at the table with her own bowl of soup. “That makes two of us, then.” He heard her begin eating her food. The fire crackled loudly as a log broke in half.

The Iron Dog grit his teeth. This is all your fault…

Later that night…

A symphony of birds flew through the crystal clear sky, singing all the while. Fluttershy watched their flight with wonder in her pink eyes. Her smile was matched by her five best friends in the town square around her. Everything was so wonderful she almost couldn’t take it.

“Fluttershy… ”

The yellow pegasus turned to the voice. “Shy! Oh how nice of you to come visit!” Fluttershy moved towards the other pony. “Come on, Pinkie Pie just made some fresh cupcakes!”

But Shy did not move from where she stood. Uncharacteristically, the other pony went down to all fours and sat. Confused, Fluttershy moved closer to her. “What’s wrong, Shy?” As she moved closer, the other pony raised her hoof and booped her on the nose. Fluttershy giggled at her touch.

Shy smiled slightly, her hoof staying against Fluttershy’s nose. “Fluttershy… I am yours, and your memory will stay with me wherever I go, I can’t change that. I’m… sorry I’m not what you needed.”

Head tilting to the side slightly, Fluttershy smiled. “You don’t ever have to be sorry, Shy. Because of you, Ponyville will always be safe and happy and beautiful. Shy… I lov-”

The loudest crack of thunder Fluttershy had ever heard ripped through the air.

Earlier…

In one motion Steel rolled, putting his leg under himself. He used it to spring at the pony with all the force he could muster. She didn’t even try to dodge and they tumbled over together. He gained the top position, wrapping his claws around her throat. Dirty nails dug into her yellow furred skin.

The pony stared into his eyes without an ounce of fear. Even when she started to gag involuntarily, she never looked away or struggled. Steel felt like he could peer into her very soul at that moment.

You’re like me. You didn’t know what it really meant to have something to lose until it was gone. There’s nothing else in this life for us. His eyes went wide. You saved me for this moment, so I could set you free.

He let her go, arms out wide. She coughed in oxygen. “No,” he said down to her, “I won’t do it. If I have to suffer, so do you.”

The pony’s pink eyes turned pleading for only a moment before anger took over. “Get off.”

Steel used the table to stand up and hobbled over to his seat. The pony rose as well and sat before her soup. The two elements of harmony quietly ate, their shared hate of one another keeping them silent.

After Steel was finished he licked the bowl. “Good soup.” The pony grunted in response. “What’s your name?”

“… Shy. You?”

“Steel.” The dog pushed the bowl towards Shy. “So, what’s the plan, Shy? Live here in this dead town until another madman shows up?”

The pony pushed her vegetables around her bowl. “Actually, that’s something you can help me with.” She looked up into his eyes. “I can’t leave until a certain somepony is dead. But you might not believe me when I tell you about her.”

Steel laughed from the bottom of his stomach. “Pony, after what I’ve seen, I’ll believe anything.”

Fluttershy felt something warm drip slowly down the side of her head. She reached up with a hoof and touched it. It was sticky. She looked at it. The color was the brightest of reds she had ever seen. She looked up at Shy.

The other pony had tears in her eyes.

Smiling, Fluttershy tried to reach up to wipe them away. No one… ever cries… in…

As if falling underwater, Fluttershy slowly fell forward. Shy reached out and caught her in her front legs, holding the perfectly clean pegasus against her unwashed body. It was a surreal feeling for the wingless pony to watch the light slowly fade from Fluttershy’s eyes.

“I hate you… ” A tear ran down her cheek. As blood hit the perfectly trim grass, flecks of green drifted into the air. The beautiful grass was floating away. “… I HATE you… ” When the green hit anypony, that pony too started to disintegrate. Fur and skin of all colors joined the sea of illusion. “I HATE YOU!” The clear sky clouded. Rain suddenly poured down onto the barren earth and revealed bone.

Holding her creator, her enemy, her master, Shy screamed to the heavens in anguish. Only she remained outside memory.

Steel watched Shy hold herself tightly and scream from his hiding spot behind the Town Hall building. He felt a sick satisfaction that he had caused the pony pain, though he didn’t really understand how or why. Regardless, it felt good to hold his weapons again. The pony had found where the Iron Dogs had stored a cache of them in the town and returned them to him.

She had told him to shoot directly in front of where she pointed. Shy had tried to explain the purpose of it but it was beyond him. All he knew was that now she had no reason to stay in this disturbing town.

He went off to complete the second part of his mission.

When every illusion and dream was gone, Shy held Fluttershy in the reality she had ran from. Rain went through her as if she were a ghost. Shy thought she could just sit there holding the other pony forever, but knew she was out of time. Steel was probably already completing his next task.

She wasn’t exactly sure what to say in that moment. In all the fairy tales and historical events she had read about nothing seemed close to what was happening to her now. Shy guessed the one thing Fluttershy would have wanted to hear more than anything else in the world.

Her voice little more than a whisper, Shy leaned in close to Fluttershy. “I love you, too.” She let her go. Like she had never been there at all Fluttershy faded into mist and was gone.

An intense heat made her look to the side. Fire roaring from inside the Town Hall began to engulf its outside as well. Letting a long sigh out, Shy made her way to the nearest skeleton. In the dark it was difficult to tell which pony was which. Shy found she didn’t really care, if she ever did. Lifting it up over her shoulder she made her way to the burning building.

As she walked, more buildings roared to life.

The entire town of Ponyville burned to the ground that night. Eventually the rain ceased its pouring, and morning came.

From where Shy and Steel stood they could see the dying embers of the once bustling town. They both wore thick cloaks she had salvaged before destroying the place. This should have happened all those years ago, Shy thought numbly. Now they’re all together again…

Steel adjusted the backpack he wore. “Ready?”

Shy lifted the backpack by her hooves onto her back. She pulled her hood down so it would be difficult for anypony to recognize her. “Yeah… let’s go.”

Together, the last Iron Dog and the Element of Kindness walked away from their pasts.

Author's Notes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dhpYT37krc

And so ends Part Three with Shy saying goodbye to Ponyville. Much of this chapter was inspired by the above song.

I love this story and want to write the next two parts badly but I may not have time anymore. I hope everyone has enjoyed it and has stuck through it even through all the theme changes. If you have any questions about the story so far or want to write a review of it all, please ask/do!

Thank you to everyone who has read this story, you kept me writing through the hard times!