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.