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…”