Applebloom stopped reading and laid her book down on the table beside her chair. She sat there, alone, and stared blankly into the darkness that had engulfed the Apple family home. A fast glance at the clock hanging on the wall to her right confirmed her theory that it was after midnight; 11:52 PM to be exact. She sat alone in her chair for another 30 seconds or so, and stood up. As she did so, she looked around suspiciously, as if somepony was watching her, and slowly walked over towards the door across the darkness.

As she approached the door that led outside, she stopped and looked down. Her heart was pounding, and she let her head hang as she let out a long, extended sigh. She slowly looked up at the door, and then quickly walked out. As she exited, she turned around to catch the door before it closed on its own. She slowly allowed it to close, then sighed again, dreading what was to come. Without thinking too much about the situation, she quickly turned around and headed her momentum to the barn across the yard.

She paused again before reaching the barn door, once again afraid to go any farther. She nudged open the barn door, and slipped through the crack she created. The old doors were creaky, but only to an extent. As little as she had opened it, she should be fine. Through the darkness, she could barely see a white blur in the floor. She walked over and flicked the switch for the dim lights to be turned on, illuminating the barn.
Now, all was visible to her, and she could see the white blur that was Sweetie Belle wrapped up in her blanket in the pile of hay that was made for her. The pillow and blanket were Apple Bloom’s from when she would stay out to take care of the sick cows, and now Sweetie Belle was using them to sleep in the barn with no purpose. She could easily go stay at Rarity’s house.. For some reason, this infuriated Apple Bloom; that, and the whole situation with Big Mac.

“Sweetie, wake up. I wanna talk to you.” She whispered as she nudged Sweetie in the back as she laid in the fetal position in the hay.

“Bloom? Is…is that you?” Sweetie mumbled as she rolled over and out of her slumber to face Apple Bloom.

“Ya. It’s me, Bitch.” Bloom quickly replied, followed by a strong hoof stomp to Sweetie’s face.

---

Big Mac jerked out of his sleep; a nasty habit, he had been meaning to get that checked out, but there was so much going on Especially now. Normally, he’d be able to lay back down and go to sleep again, but this time, he was forced to stay in the land of the living out of pure curiosity. His curiosity was spiked by the faint sound of the barn doors. He had spent so much time in that barn that he could tell if the doors were being opened from across the 20 acre farm, and hearing it open and close this late? That was more than unusual. The clock read 12:05 PM, much to late to be caring for the animals. Then, he remembered about Sweetie Belle. “Better check on her. Won’t hurt.”

He walked down the stairs and expected to greet Apple Bloom and concoct a yarn of why he was going out so late, but once he reached the bottom step, he realized that his little sister was nowhere to be seen. “Must be in the bed.” He continued into the living room and began to walk towards the exit to the outside world, thinking about his lover and how beautiful she looked sleeping. He slowly walked out the door, careful not to wake the children.

As he walked away from the home, he saw the old, dim lights in the barns flick on. ”She must be awake. Perfect.” He began walking slowly towards the barn, looking forward to seeing her again; to feel her warm lips, tender skin, and soft mane. He began walking slightly faster inadvertently, excited by what was possible to come.

He walked up to the barn, wondering what she was doing awake so late. Perhaps she had become cold. He began to feel guilty for leaving her out in the cold alone. ”She could get hurt out here.” He shook off this feeling and continued towards the barn. As he reached the bar, he heard somepony speaking. It sounded like Apple Bloom. ”That’s impossible…” then he heard another voice as he got closer. This one was obviously Sweetie Belle.

“Bloom? Is…is that you?” She sounded fatigued, as if she had been woke up by somepony. That somepony was definitely Apple Bloom.

“Ya. It’s me, Bitch.” And Big Mac heard a stomping of the hoof, but not on the ground, instead it sounded…like it was on a pony.

Big Mac busted through the barn doors, and without thinking, tackled Apple Bloom and held her down. “What tha hay do ya think your doin’? You’re crazy Bloom! How could you? Why would you?” He turned to find Sweetie Belle curled into a ball, sobbing into the fresh hay beneath her with her hooves over her face, covering the area that Apple Bloom had stomped. This sight infuriated Big Mac, and it took all he could not to stomp onto Apple Bloom’s expressionless face. She felt no guilt, she was actually quite proud of her job. She had accomplished what she came to do. Though she didn't get to stomp a few more times, and beat the point across a little bit more, the one stomp she managed to get through was well worth it.

As she stared at Big Mac, a grin wanted to break through her stern face, and she turned away to look at Sweetie. Seeing her in pain the way she was made Apple Bloom even more proud of her work and the grin finally worked its way through to be visible. She turned back to Big Mac, who saw the smile, and reared back to stomp in Apple Bloom’s face, but he remembered that this was his sister, and no matter how much he hated her, he needed to keep somewhat calm. Also, Sweetie Belle was watching, and she had had enough pain for one day. He stomped on the ground to the right side of her face, making her jump, and stop smiling. He was breathing heavily, and had fire in his eyes. Apple Bloom realized that she was most likely lucky to be alive.

“Go. Inside. NOW! I swear to Celestia if you ever touch her again, I WILL kill you! Just because you’re my sister doesn’t mean I can’t kill you. I love her, and I thought I loved you, but if you hurt her again, I’ll make sure you won’t have the chance to do it again.” He got off of on top of her, and walked over to Sweetie Belle. Apple Bloom jumped up and ran as fast as she could into the house.

“Sweetie Belle…ya ok? Where did she hit you?” Sweetie Belle remained curled up in a ball and sobbing, not able to speak to her lover and tell him the information that he desired. “Sweetie…where did she hit you?!” Sweetie Bell looked over to face him as she moved her hooves away from her face, and revealed the gigantic black eye that Sweetie had gained in the confrontation.

---

In a cottage on the verge of the Everfree Forest, lived a yellow mare with cotton candy pink hair. Fluttershy the pegasis pony sat alone in the living room of her home, allowing nopony, or rabbit, in. Angel, who was on the other side of the door, was confused. If her owner Fluttershy wouldn't let HIM inside, something was wrong. The last thing he saw was the butter shaded colored pony running into her cottage, and now he had been left outside wondering about what had caused Fluttershy to cry.

Fluttershy, meanwhile, was sitting inside the cottage staring at an old group photo of her and her five friends from ten years ago. No, former friends. They weren’t friends; they were just other ponies that had been there. She had used them as a shield from the outside world, and now look, they all considered her useless, harmless, and in Discord’s own words: weak and helpless. She had agreed with him, but she didn’t think it was so true. SHE knew she was weak and helpless, but that was just a fact. She formerly Rainbow Dash to be her closest of friends, and now Fluttershy realized that Dash was the one who hated her the most. Her best friend now hated her.

Fluttershy stared at the photo and thought of all of the good times she had with them: defeating Nightmare Moon, saving Ponyville countless times, defeating Discord, the Grand Galloping Gala, so much fun. She began more and more thankful that the old picture had been kept in a frame for the ten years it held its place upon her shelf as tears began to fall down her face. She looked at all of their faces, all of them so happy. Or was that a mask they put on to hide their hatred for Fluttershy?

She looked away, and found the necklace she had gained when they defeated Nightmare Moon, the same one she had used against Discord. Since the incident with him, there had been no use for the elements of harmony other than a decorative ornament to place on the shelf along with other useless knick-knacks and memoirs. Her necklace was once a luxurious gold, with a crystal pink butterfly as the centerpiece, much like her cutiemark. Now, however, the dust of ten years without use had piled on top of it. It looked similar to a dull bronze piece of dress-up jewelry, with faux crystals in the center.

Her element was Kindness. She had earned it, but there was no need for kindness anymore. It came in handy that one time against the manticore. Now, though, the world seemed to be doing fine without her. Nopony remembered about them saving Ponyville now anyway. Her element may have been kindness, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t have a dark side. She glanced back down at the picture, and closed her eyes in an attempt to dam the tears. Suddenly, the thought of everypony hating her rushed back into her brain. She swung her hoof forward and the picture frame crashed into the wall, accompanied by a painful sound of shattering glass. Without thinking, she ran upstairs into her bedroom.

Inside the bedroom were pictures of her “friends” everywhere. Not for long. She swiped each one of them off of the shelf one by one, her heart racing faster with each smashed frame. Only one remained: A picture of Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash together as fillies after Dash had won the race and gained her cutiemark, as did Shy. They were so happy together, not a single torn bond between them. But now, they were two completely different mares. They had nothing in common, and had not even seen each other for years. Fluttershy calmed down and sat on her bed, staring at the picture of the sky blue and cream colored fillies. She did not need to stare long, as she quickly stood up, opened the window, and threw the childhood photo out the window, enjoying the sound of the glass shatter as it hit the ground.

Her life had been a lie, everypony hated her in all actuality, but she had been too naive to realize it. The world had casted her to the side, but she had convinced herself that she was loved. She lay down on her bed and sobbed, but this was a different sobbing than she had ever seen or felt before. She was crying because she was sad, but at the same time, she was laughing. She felt a sudden relief in her life, as if all of Equestria had been lifted off her shoulders. She didn’t need friends. She didn’t need anypony. She would show Ponyville that she could be just as vile and mean as they were to her.

Angel had managed to climb through a window on the ground floor after hearing the shattering of the first picture frame. He slowly hopped up the steps into Fluttershy’s room, as if it were a dungeon or a forbidden land, and creaked open the door. At once he saw Fluttershy laying on her bed sobbing and laughing.

“YOU!” Fluttershy yelled in a menacing voice. “You were the worst of them all! You treated me worse than anypony ever could! Here I considered you more than a friend. I considered you family! But all along, you were treating me horribly! I am the master, NOT YOU! YOU are a pet! No…you were a pet. Now though, you’re nothing. Get out, and don’t EVER let me see you anywhere near this cottage!”

Angel looked confused at Fluttershy. All of these years he had assumed they had a tight bond with each other, one that was everlasting, but apparently this was not the case. He began to cry, and slowly, he hopped out of the room, and stood in the middle of the living room. He looked around to see his old bed (which he never used due to his sleeping with Fluttershy instead), his play toys (also unused due to his old age), and the shattered picture frame. The broken glass was like a magnet to him, and he found himself hopping over to look at it. He bent down and flipped over the frame, to reveal the old group photo of the saviors of Equestria. Angel bent down and grabbed the photo and carried it up the stairs, then slowly slid it under Fluttershy’s bedroom door, hoping that perhaps she would take another look at it and realize the error of her ways.

Now that Angel had done what she could to resolve the issue, he continued on his way to the exit from Fluttershy’s home. He opened the door and hopped out from it with his head hanging low. What now? Where would he go? This was the only home he had ever known. He had been lost in the Everfree forest, and had found his way to Fluttershy’s cottage. Fluttershy had been farming her carrots, and Angel attempted to steal some. Though he had failed at his mission, he succeeded at stealing Fluttershy’s heart. They had been together ever since, and now he was ejected from the home. His home as much as hers.

Fluttershy lay in her room, calming down from her crying fit that she had become caught in. She had gotten the sadness from her system, but not the rage. The rage that made her want to destroy all traces of her friends. “Why am I here? What’s my purpose? Element of Kindness…I was just a pony who was in the right place, at the right time, and suddenly I’m a hero. Not anymore. I’m not “The Element of Kindness”, I’m simply Fluttershy, the pony who lives in a cottage in the middle of nowhere.”

She rolled off of the bed and landed on her feet. As she looked up, she noticed the mess she had created. It looked as if a riot had taken place in her bedroom, which it had. Fluttershy’s rebellion had taken place throughout the home, destroying everything that stood in her way. Another glance around the room, and she noticed the familiar photo of six different colored ponies, all lined up and in a row. She hated the picture, and hated Angel for forcing it back on to her. She held the picture in her mouth as she walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. Walking across the living room, she was careful not to step on any broken shards of glass. Seeing the result of her work around the home made her proud. She had thrown off the shackles of her kindness, and now was as ruthless as anypony else. She had realized the hatred that surrounded her, and embraced it.

As she trotted with glee into the kitchen she laid the picture of the six ponies down on the stove. Quickly, she turned the knob to low, watching the picture slowly fade into ashes in a glorious blaze of red, orange, and yellow. The feeling of the heat of the fire on her face felt wonderful and relaxing, and she watched as the last ponies face burned into oblivion, Rainbow Dash’s. Fluttershy continued to keep the fire blazing, feeling the soothing heat from the burner on her face. It provided comfort, without having to go outside and face the false hope that somepony enjoyed her presence. Suddenly an idea popped into her head.

Fluttershy quickly gathered all of the photos from the broken frames that were shattered in her rampage, and placed them in the kitchen. One by one, she laid them on top of the burner, playing a sick game with herself of guessing who would be the last to burn. Rarity, Twilight, Dash, Pinkie, Rarity, Dash, Pinkie, Shy, AJ, Twilight, it went on and on, through the many pictures that Fluttershy had compiled over the ten years she knew Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity, and AJ, plus the many other years that she had known Dash.

Something was missing, as if she had forgotten something, but what? What had she left behind in her rampage? She searched the house high and low, trying to remember what she had forgotten. No results. She went outside, and discovered what she had missed: The picture she had thrown from the window. Quickly, she ran up to it and grabbed it, looking at it again, and feeling the rage build up again.

She galloped into the cottage and laid the picture down in the table, then she went to the oven and turned it up as high as it would go. After the burner had turned as hot as it could, Fluttershy turned it off, then laid the picture in the middle of it, watching with a disturbing excitement, as if it was a race to see whose face would burn into thin air first. The blaze of the paper, mixed with her pure bliss with the burning, made the whole event disturbing. She stopped bouncing with joy when the “race” came to a close.

She watched closely as the fire burned out, making the fire burn even slower, and building the anticipation. Dash won by a few milliseconds. Fluttershy jumped with disturbing joy as Dash’s face completed its obliteration. In nearly a second later, Fluttershy’s face was also gone, then the middle of the photo, and then it was all gone, its only traces left were the glowing ashes underneath the burner.

Next Chapter: The Dream/The Visitor Estimated time remaining: 29 Minutes