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.