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.