Rain poured over the hospital in Ponyville. Grey and black thunderheads rumbled and lightning struck with deafening retorts. The rain had started shortly after the bitter cold had left Ponyville, and had not stopped for several days now. The river that ran near Fluttershy’s house and into the dark Everfree forest had become flooded, the water levels rising high above the banks. The corpses of animals caught in sudden flash floods washed up in the fields, often piling up to three or four corpses high.

In Ponyville, the ponies had banded together to try and ward off the destructive flooding brought on by the rains. Bags of sand acted as pony-made barriers that had warded off the worst of the flooding, but the damage was still severe. Flooded, abandoned houses had become a common sight as what few ponies remained walked the streets, umbrellas held high. Some houses had been totaled, the weight of the water upon the thatch roofing leading to collapse and decomposition.

Worse still were the numbers of illnesses brought upon by the rains. Ponies of all ages stumbled into or were carried into the Ponyville Hospital, coughing and rasping. The sick ward of the hospital was overflowing with patients. Some of the patients that required less care were placed into other wards to accommodate those with more severe illnesses. The constant coughing and sneezing gave an almost surreal and supernatural to the natural disaster befalling Ponyville.

It was into this hospital that Fluttershy walked, a jacket pulled tightly over her frame. Less than two weeks had passed since Fluttershy’s meeting with Princess Celestia on how to defeat the Slenderpony, and for the first several days Fluttershy had felt imbued with a sense of invincibility. Her confidence had been stellar, until she had returned to Ponyville. Her heart had sunk as she had trotted past her little cottage, abandoned to the elements. The weather had not been kind to the ramshackle cottage, the door lying in the slightly overgrown grass nearby. The thatch roofing had long since caved in, allowing the rains free access to the inside of Fluttershy’s cottage.

As she had entered the cottage, Fluttershy breathed a deep sigh of relief. The rains had washed away the headless corpse of Angel, the small bunny’s limp form being washed out and into the fields that he had so often jumped and played in, where he could finally be at peace.

Or so Fluttershy wanted to believe.

She could not bring herself of the rat-creatures stripping Angel’s body of flesh, then gnawing on the bones until nothing remained but small slivers of bone to insignificant to be bothered with eating. Fluttershy did not want to imagine the things that had killed her best friend further desecrating his corpse. She wanted to believe that, for once, there was to be a silver lining to her troubles; that something had ended peacefully. It was a nice thought that Fluttershy entertained, though not a realistic thought.

Fluttershy had gathered a few things from her waterlogged cottage, stowed them in her bag, and turned to leave. As she had been leaving, she heard the crunch of glass beneath her hooves. Fluttershy looked down. She had crushed a wrinkled picture of herself and Angel on his birthday, when she had spent hours making a special cake for him that he had turned down moments after its finishing because there had been something wrong with the petals on the flowers that Fluttershy had picked specifically for the occasion. A tear ran down Fluttershy’s face, mixing with the frigid raindrops that streamed down alongside it. “Angel,” Fluttershy said softly, “I am so, so sorry, Angel.”

She struggled to get out the remainder of her apology, choking back tears. For the first time since Sweet Apple Acres, Fluttershy had felt a crushing feeling of despair come over her. She fell to the floor, not minding the biting cold of the rain and wept openly. “Mommy’s sorry, Angel. Mommy’s sorry.” She choked out.

Her eyes still red from crying, Fluttershy had left her cottage, looking back at her house for one last look. She sniffled and walked solemnly onwards into Ponyville. As she had walked she overheard snippets of conversation. Mayor Mare was talking to several representatives from Canterlot as Fluttershy passed her. “-ave to evacuate. We’re running out of supplies to tend to the sick,” she was saying. “The Princesses understand, Mayor, but there isn’t a place ready in Canter-“ the guard replied before the remainder of his comment was drowned out by the creaking of wood. A house behind the two ponies creaked and buckled before the soggy wood broke, sending an entire wall slamming to the ground.

Fluttershy had walked on to the Hospital, where she now stood. Even from the entrance, she could hear the coughing and rasping of the sick and dying even from where she stood, but what hurt her heart was the dozens of ponies sleeping on the floor of the hospital, one of the few places left in Ponyville that wasn’t damaged by the rain. Shivering foals lay curled up in tight balls next to their mothers, desperate for warmth. Small colts and fillies shivered in the cold, some sobbing and crying.

“Excuse me, pardon me,” Fluttershy said softly as she made her way through the mess of ponies, taking care not to trod upon anypony. Her hoof accidently brushed against the leg of a sickly elderly pony. “Oh my goodness, I am so sorry. Let me get out of your way,” she stammered. The elderly stallion paid her no mind. He continued to stare blankly at the wall.

Suddenly, two small ponies appeared in front of Fluttershy, one Pegasus floating with his wings and one Unicorn levitating. “Fwuttershy! You brings bunny?” Pumpkin Cake spat, referencing the days in the past that Angel and Fluttershy had babysat the Cake twins. “Where bunny, Fwuttershy?” Pound Cake asked innocently. Fluttershy averted her gaze from the imploring brown eyes of Pound Cake, only to have Pumpkin Cake levitate down and latch onto her face with a squeal.

“Come on, kids. Leave Ms. Fluttershy alone,” Mr. Carrot Cake said, exhaustion causing his voice to trail off. “Aww,” both twins said in unison. Fluttershy’s sadness lessened as she felt Pumpkin Cake squeeze her face a little tighter, burying her light orange coat into Fluttershy. Mrs. Cup Cake chimed in, “Come on, kids. Your father is right. Come on ov-” Her statement was interrupted by a bout of coughing and wheezing.

“Are you alright, Mrs. Cake?” Fluttershy asked. “Doctor says that I’m sick, just like almost everybody else left in this town,” Mrs. Cake said softly, ‘I should be fine.” But Fluttershy could tell that Mrs. Cake was quite sick, her coat losing its usual color. Mr. Cake walked over and nuzzled his wife as Pound Cake and Carrot Cake floated down to their mother’s side and curled up. Fluttershy took this as a dismissal. “I have to go, you guys. But I hope you feel better, Mrs. Cake!” Fluttershy said. “Goodbye, Fluttershy,” Mr. Cake said. His wife nodded in assent. “Bye bye, Fwuttershy!” the Cake twins chimed in. “Goodbye, children! Behave for your parents,” Fluttershy replied, nuzzling the twins.

Fluttershy quickly found Nurse Redheart and approached her. “Excuse me, Nurse Redheart? I am looking for someone, and I was hoping that you could help me. You know, if you have the time,” Fluttershy said softly. Nurse Redheart sighed. “Everyone’s looking for someone in this place.” She pulled out a clipboard. “Name of the patient?”

“Apple Bloom,” Fluttershy replied. Nurse Redheart looked up at Fluttershy. “Right this way,” she said softly. The mares walked in silence down the halls, making several turns and twists before coming to the psychological treatment ward. Inside, several rooms down, Apple Bloom sat in her bed. Her eyes, once lively and filled with energy, stared blankly ahead.

“She’s been like this for weeks,” Redheart said, shaking her head slowly, “Poor thing, watched her brother get killed right in front of her.” Fluttershy swallowed hard. Each word from Redheart cut like a knife. “T-T-That’s terrible,” Fluttershy replied, “Can I visit her?” Redheart shook her head. “Family only at this time, and Applejack is currently tending to Granny Smith, who has a bad case of the cold,” Redheart said solemnly.

“Oh my goodness! Poor Applejack!” Fluttershy exclaimed. Redheart nodded and said, “You can visit her, if you’d like.” Fluttershy nodded.

Applejack was sitting in a chair besides Granny Smith, who coughed and wheezed in her sleep. Fluttershy walked up to her close friend and spread her wings over Applejack. “Applejack… I am so sorry,” Fluttershy said. Applejack looked at Fluttershy, tears in her eyes. She wiped them away with her forehoof. “Ah, you ain’t got nothin’ to be sorry for, Fluttershy. It’s not like it’s yer fault, what happened to Big Mac and all. And Granny? She’s just old, that’s all. She’ll pull through,” Applejack said. Fluttershy couldn’t respond. She was on the verge of tears. It may not be my fault, Applejack, but I am still going to try and fix this. I am going to stop the monster that killed your brother and caused your grandmother and sister to be in this hospital. I promise, Fluttershy thought as she stared solemnly down at Granny Smith, her wing still around her friend.

It walks through the cold rain, oblivious to the chill. Its white form passes silently though the rows of tombstones like a ghost in the rain. Its black tentacles drag across the stone headpieces absently as It walks to the graves It is looking for.

It stops and stares with nonexistent eyes at the two tombstones. Lightning flashes overhead, illuminating the names Honeyshine Meadowdew and Sterling Karat carved into the tombstones. It does not flinch at the lightning, only stares. It is soon joined by two small, pale forms. The jackets hang loosely off of the emaciated bodies of Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash, their skin drawn tightly against their bones. Their empty eyes sit large in their skulls, unmoving, awaiting instruction. It turns to them. It knows that after It is done, this cemetery will contain many more bodies and even more empty graves.

Find the yellow Pegasus. Break her once more, It whispers to Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle as the rains continue to fall. As Dash takes to the skies despite the lightning and Twilight teleports, It feels emptiness inside. It is time to feed again.