Written by: Mayhem Darkshadow
Edited by: psychohooves and Avatar of Shadow
An Angel Lost
Rainbow Dash landed in front of Fluttershy's cottage after a short flight from Ponyville. Before knocking on the door, she looked up at the sky. The past few days have been cloudy and miserable, almost like it was trying to tell everypony something. Shrugging and shaking her head, Rainbow Dash turned back to the front door of the Cottage. Rainbow Dash put a hoof up to knock on the door but nervously pulled it away. Nopony had seen Fluttershy in almost five days. Each day, the blinds were shut and there were no signs of activity at all. Not one critter was seen frolicking or playing outside. Everypony knew something was wrong. In fact just an hour ago Rainbow Dash and her friends all met up at the library to discuss the issue. The meeting was anything but enjoyable.
**********
"Alright girls, we need to have a serious discussion," Twilight Sparkle announced to the four other ponies sitting around her the library.
There was a small amount of whispering and murmuring. Twilight cleared her throat to get everypony’s attention.
"As I'm sure you've all noticed by now, nopony has a clue what's up with Fluttershy or if she's even home. I don't know about all of you, but I'm starting to get concerned."
All the other ponies in the room nodded.
"This ain't like Shy. She'd never just disappear all of a sudden," Applejack spoke up, resulting in the unanimous agreement of her fellow equines.
"Maybe the poor dear is just sick and doesn't wish to be bothered," Rarity added.
"Yeah, but y'all know that even if Fluttershy was sick, she would never stop caring for her animals," Applejack retorted immediately.
Applejack had a point. Fluttershy loved her animals, even enough to die for them.
"I've tried to see if she's there or not," Rainbow Dash explained to her friends, "Every day after weather patrol, I went and watched her cottage and I saw nothing. Seriously! Nopony or animal came in or out in the hours that I watched. I even knocked a few times. I'm starting to think something really bad may have happened."
Everypony looked around the room nervously, pondering the severity of such a possibility. After what felt like an eternity of silence, Twilight spoke up.
"I think somepony needs to go over there and see what's up."
Pinkie Pie's face lit up and she raised her hoof. "Oh! I'll do it! Let me! Let me!"
Everypony looked nervously at the enthusiastic party pony; though, Applejack was the only pony brave enough to speak up.
"Not to ruin your good mood sugarcube, but ya probably wouldn't be the best pony to send over ta Fluttershy's.”
Pinkie Pie's face fell immediately. "Why not? If she's feeling down, a party or some fun would cheer her up!"
"Well Pinkie," Twilight started, "Um...it's not like we're saying you can't help. It's just...well if Fluttershy is...this is really hard to explain."
Applejack stepped in. "What Twilight is trying to say Pinkie is that sometimes, a party isn't the way to help somepony."
Pinkie Pie sat there processing what her friends were saying. After a few seconds, her face fell even further.
"I...I guess you're right," she mumbled quietly.
Nopony knew what to say, so they returned to the pressing issue.
"I think you should be the one to go over, Rainbow dear," stated Rarity.
Rainbow Dash jumped slightly at the sound of her name.
"Me?! Why me?!" she sputtered.
"Well ya are Shy's best friend Rainbow," Applejack said.
Rainbow Dash couldn't argue that fact. She really was Fluttershy's best friend. After all, they had known each other since they were fillies.
"Shouldn't we send somepony else though?" Rainbow Dash complained, "I mean, what if she's really sick or really down? I don't think I'd be much help."
Unfortunately for Rainbow Dash, she knew that her complaining was useless. The silence that followed her excuses proved that they had no intention of sending somepony else.
"I guess I'll do it then," Rainbow Dash concluded. "But if I feel that I'm not helping, I'm coming straight back here and getting one of you to do it."
**********
Rainbow Dash held her hoof near Fluttershy's front door, but she couldn’t bring herself to knock. She absolutely feared doing this, and she felt like a terrible friend for thinking so. Putting her hoof back down, Rainbow Dash let out a sigh and turned around to leave, but the nagging voices of her friends were echoing in her head. If she ran away from this responsibility, there were going to be severe consequences. Groaning and slapping her face Rainbow Dash turned back around and, very reluctantly, knocked on the door. There was no response. Rainbow Dash knocked again slightly harder than before, only to receive the same result.
Maybe she isn’t home; though, that would be very unlike Fluttershy to leave without telling anypony, Rainbow Dash thought to herself.
Rainbow Dash knocked one more time, even harder than before, and called out.
"Fluttershy! Are you home?" she called into the open air.
This time Rainbow Dash got a response, one loud enough to startle the feathers off of her wings.
"GO AWAY!"
Rainbow Dash shook her head and then banged her hoof hard on the door persistently.
"Fluttershy! Seriously! Open the door. I just want to talk and make sure you're alright," Rainbow Dash shouted at the top of her lungs.
Her ears were met with another ground shaking response.
"I SAID GO AWAY!!!"
Rainbow Dash snarled.
I guess I'm going to have to do this the hard way.
Rainbow Dash knew Fluttershy kept a spare key outside somewhere and began her search for it. After looking in all the obviously places to hide a key only to turn up empty hooved, Rainbow Dash realized she would have to think outside the box.
If I were Fluttershy where would I hide a spare key?
After a solid five minutes of looking, Rainbow Dash gave up her search; but as she was about to knock again, she noticed something peculiar in one of the water pools outside Fluttershy’s cottage. The bottom was coated with tiny pebbles, but something silver and shiny stood out among the dull rock faces.
I'll give you credit Fluttershy. Hiding a key there is pretty clever.
Rainbow Dash dipped her head into the water and pulled out the key with her teeth. Before opening the door, she shook the water out of her mane.
Okay...here we go.
Rainbow Dash tentatively inserted the key into the lock and turned it. There was a quiet click, and Rainbow Dash opened the door. The whole cottage was dark, the blinds shut tight with the only source of light being a dim lantern.
"Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash nervously called.
All was quiet until Rainbow Dash heard clatter from upstairs. Gulping, she very quietly moved towards the stairs and went up to the second level. Rainbow Dash was not prepared for what she saw. Fluttershy was lying on her bed crying her eyes out. Her mane and tail were frazzled and sweaty, and her feathers were ruffled and filthy. The smell was even worse, the room reeking of a pony who hadn’t bathed in days along with the pungent odor of booze. Rainbow Dash glanced around and saw a few empty wine bottles scattered on the ground.
I didn't even know Fluttershy drank, Rainbow thought to herself.
To say that the scene wasn’t pretty would be a major understatement. Something was seriously wrong.
"Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash murmured quietly.
There was no response for what felt like an eternity, but Fluttershy eventually lifted her head up. Rainbow Dash was taken aback by her friend’s complexion. Fluttershy's eyes were so bloodshot that they were almost completely red, the areas around her eyeballs swollen and puffy. It appeared as though she had been crying for hours, days even. The only part that seemed revolting was the dried mucus smeared on Fluttershy’s face.
"Fluttershy... Are you...W-what happened...?" Rainbow Dash asked curiously.
Fluttershy didn't say a word as fresh tears formed in her eyes. She slammed her head back down on the bed and continued to bawl, only pausing every few moments to take a swig from a half full wine bottle. Rainbow Dash didn't know what to do, so she just stood there and watched her friend. Realizing this painful sight would continue endlessly if she didn’t take action, Rainbow Dash walked over to the bed and sat next to Fluttershy.
"Fluttershy... What's been going on? We haven't seen you in almost five days. Everypony is starting to get really worried," Rainbow Dash explained quietly.
Fluttershy didn't acknowledge her friend and kept on crying. Rainbow Dash knew getting answers wouldn’t be so easy.
"Did...did something...?" Rainbow Dash asked nervously.
Much to Rainbow Dash’s shock, Fluttershy shot up, wrapped her hooves around her friend, and sobbed into her shoulder.
"Oh Rainbow I...I...I lost Angel," Fluttershy cried in agony.
Rainbow Dash was a bit confused by the statement. "Wait... If you lost him, then why aren't you out looking for him?"
Fluttershy shook her head and hiccupped. "Angel didn't run away...he...he.... HE DIED!"
Rainbow Dash felt her heart skip a beat, all of her questions being answered in one single statement.
"Wait...but...how?" was all she could get out, her voice cracking.
Fluttershy pulled away from Rainbow Dash and wiped her nose with her hoof.
"Well...it happened about five days ago..." Fluttershy began.
"I was enjoying the beautiful night with Angel as I went about my nightly routine of tucking in and saying goodnight to all my animals whose homes were outside. Normally, Angel would be snuggled up in his little basket, but lately he would join me, wanting to enjoy Princess Luna's beautiful night. I didn't mind of course. In fact, he was essentially the alpha-male to all my animals. If I couldn't get their attention, Angel always could.
I walked over to the chicken coop with Angel. He really was my favorite assistant, as I would always tell him. I proceeded to check inside the coop to say goodnight and count the chickens, but I noticed something was... off... One of my chickens appeared to be missing.
I looked around to see if I could find my chicken, but much to my surprise, Angel was missing too. I called out to him and finally spotted him... He was running towards.... *gulp* The Everfree Forest... chasing after that chicken...
I chased after him as fast as I could, calling out to him to stop. I wanted to get them before we got even close to the Everfree Forest's entrance, so I ran as fast as I possibly could.
I begged him to stop, feeling my heart race as we got closer and closer to the entrance of the Everfree Forest. And... That's when it happened...
Three massive Timberwolves appeared suddenly at the entrance of the Everfree Forest... Almost instantly, they tore to shreds and devoured my chicken. My little Angel stood there in pure horror, too scared to move. And when I finally got close.... It was too late...
The wolves torn to shreds and devoured my little bunny, just like they did to my chicken. It was horrifying... I begged them to stop, but they only rubbed the whole scene in my face by flashing their blood coated teeth and growling fiercely. I couldn't contain my anger and unleashed my stare upon them, so full of hatred and pain that it even caused the Timberwolves to scurry away, yipping in fear. After they were gone, I collapsed on the ground and wailed in sorrow... My little Angel... He..... He was gone... Forever...."
Rainbow Dash sat there as Fluttershy finished her tale. She was utterly speechless, unable to fathom what kind of feelings Fluttershy must be experiencing right now.
"I'm...I'm so sorry..." was all she could get out.
Fluttershy put her head back down on Rainbow's shoulder and continued crying. All Rainbow Dash could bring herself to do was pat Fluttershy softly on the back. Fluttershy reeked of a pungent odor, but Rainbow Dash suffered through it.
"Fluttershy...I hate to ask, but when was the last time you...well...cleaned yourself?" Rainbow Dash asked curiously.
Fluttershy stopped crying but didn't say a word.
"Okay...um...how about you go take a bath and maybe clear your head? I'll...I'll clean up a bit," Rainbow Dash said.
Fluttershy didn’t do anything, making Rainbow Dash realize that she will have to take charge. She wrapped a hoof around Fluttershy, and they slowly made their way to the bathroom.
"Come on Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash grunted as she lugged her friend along, "You know you could use your legs."
Fluttershy let out a hiccup, and, eventually, they made it to the bathroom. Rainbow Dash tried her best to set Fluttershy down but eventually gave up and let her flop to the ground. Shaking her head, Rainbow Dash turned on the water and filled the tub.
"Alright... let's go," Rainbow Dash said as she tried to pick up Fluttershy. Fluttershy, however, didn't move.
"Come on Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash barked.
Fluttershy sighed and slowly got up of the ground and into the tub.
"Alright Fluttershy...I'm gonna clean up around the house. Just...clean yourself up," Rainbow Dash mumbled.
Fluttershy didn't say a word but simply stared blankly at the wall. Rainbow Dash let out a sigh and left the bathroom. She hated seeing Fluttershy like this.
**********
It took Rainbow Dash an hour to clean up the house. The entire time she had to listen to Fluttershy's cries from upstairs. It was a heartbreaking sound. Rainbow Dash figured she should probably stay with Fluttershy until she could get her to cheer up.
"Fluttershy, are you done yet?" Rainbow Dash called.
All Rainbow Dash heard was sobbing. Groaning slightly, she made her way upstairs. Much to her disappointment, Fluttershy hadn’t moved from that spot this entire time. Rainbow Dash shook her head.
"Fluttershy... This is really pathetic."
Fluttershy didn't say anything and began crying harder. Rainbow Dash immediately regretted what she said.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Fluttershy... I didn't mean it."
Fluttershy wiped her eyes and finally began talking. "I'm...I'm sorry Rainbow Dash. I must be a terrible mess right now."
Rainbow Dash didn't say anything. She worried that she would upset her friend even more. Fluttershy got out of the tub, with Rainbow Dash's help, and dried herself off.
"So... I'll stay with you if you want me to, Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash told her friend.
Fluttershy just nodded quietly. Rainbow Dash knew it was going to be a very long day and night, but she kept her thoughts to herself.
**********
The remainder day was rather busy, for Rainbow Dash at least. Fluttershy spent every waking moment of her time moping and sobbing. Rainbow Dash tried for the first few hours trying to cheer her friend up but gave up after she realized her attempts were feeble. Instead, she turned her attention to the sorry state of Fluttershy's place of residence. The house was a pigsty. Rainbow Dash was not one to do meaningless labor; however, she decided to make an exception for the sake of her friend. She spent a solid two hours cleaning up dirty counter tops and washing filthy dishes. Though Fluttershy claimed to be doing so, Rainbow Dash was also worried about Fluttershy eating. Rainbow decided to check the cabinets, finding no food at all. Rather than bug Fluttershy about this, she just decided to go out to the shops and buy some food. Rainbow Dash took some bits from Fluttershy's safe box and went out to the market. She casually went about the stalls and grabbed food items scattered about. Rainbow Dash was on the lookout though as she did this. Fluttershy's problem was a rather tender situation, and she knew she'd rather not get any ponies involved other than herself. Everything was going smoothly, but almost instantly took a turn in the wrong direction.
“Rainbow Dash!”
Rainbow Dash flipped around and saw Twilight and Applejack trotting up to her. Oh Celestia. I have to think of a lie to get out of this and quickly!
“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight called, “Did you find Fluttershy?”
“Oh um...yeah I did,” Rainbow Dash mumbled.
“Well what did y'all find out?” Applejack asked curiously.
“Oh yeah...ah...one of Fluttershy's animals is really sick and she quarantined her house and sent off all her other animals so they wouldn't get sick too. She asked me if I could do some shopping for her since she doesn't want to leave the house.”
Twilight and Applejack looked at each other. “Well does she need more help? The rest of us could come over,” Twilight mentioned.
“No,” Rainbow Dash shot in a panic, “No, no, that’s okay. Fluttershy said she'd be okay. I'm only getting her food, but she didn't ask me to stay. Anyway girls, I should probably get back so I can get this food in the fridge.”
Without another word, Rainbow Dash flew off back in the direction of Fluttershy’s cottage. Twilight and Applejack exchanged glances, noticing something rather off with Rainbow Dash. As Rainbow Dash flew off, she let out a sigh of relief.
That was pretty close.
**********
The rest of the day was rather uneventful, and night eventually rolled around. Rainbow Dash was beat. She hadn’t been doing anything besides sitting with Fluttershy, but she feels the stress and worry was enough to exhaust her. Rainbow Dash was beginning to feel the pain of Fluttershy’s sorrow directly. As she sat there watching Fluttershy's every move, Rainbow Dash heard her stomach growl loudly. She figured it was probably time for some dinner.
"Would you like some dinner Fluttershy...?" Rainbow Dash asked the poor mare.
Rainbow Dash received no response. Fluttershy truly was sorry sight. She sat on the couch staring blankly at a picture of Angel and drank steadily from a bottle of wine. Rainbow Dash shook her head.
"I think you've had enough to drink Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash said as she tried to take the bottle from Fluttershy. However, Fluttershy put up a fight. Rainbow Dash almost had to rustle the bottle out of Fluttershy's grip, causing Fluttershy to cry as soon as the bottle was removed from her grasp. Rainbow Dash facehoofed.
"For Celestia’s sake Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash snapped, "Look. I know you just lost Angel, but you are being ridiculous. Drinking and sobbing will NOT bring him back. He's gone Fluttershy. And do you honestly think Angel is happy seeing you drinking and crying for five days straight?!"
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and waited for a response, and she got quite the response.
"How dare you!?" Fluttershy burst, "How dare you speak about Angel like that!?"
Rainbow Dash gulped as Fluttershy got up in her face.
"You don't understand Rainbow Dash. You will never understand! It's like I lost a foal. Angel was...Angel was my precious little bunny and he was taken away from me. You will never understand the cruelty of losing something you hold dear!!"
Rainbow dash was unable to form a response, no words able to come out of her mouth.
"What if you lost Tank Rainbow? What if all of a sudden Tank was taken away from you when it wasn't his time to go? How would you feel? What would you do?!" asked Fluttershy in a rage.
"I...I don't know Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash stuttered, "I mean, I'd be devastated, but...I don't think I'd be sitting around moping about it."
Fluttershy pointed a hoof at Rainbow Dash but didn't say anything. Her eyes just filled with tears, and she ran upstairs. Rainbow Dash stood there speechless, knowing that she hurt Fluttershy and couldn’t bring herself to go upstairs. She instead plopped down on the couch. Letting out a big groan, Rainbow Dash picked up the dropped bottle of wine and took a swig from it. The alcohol dulled the pain, but it certainly didn't get rid of it.
**********
Fluttershy sat upstairs on her bed, staring at another picture of Angel as she cried silently. Every now and then a tear drop would fall on the picture, but she would simply wipe it off. Fluttershy felt bad for Rainbow Dash, especially since she was the one pony who tried to help her; however, she did feel that Rainbow Dash deserved it. She was being very unsympathetic. Perhaps she simply didn’t understand the feelings Fluttershy were experiencing. She wanted to go downstairs and talk to her friend, but she was too distraught to move. She curled up on her bed in hopes of taking a nap to help ease the pain. She wasn't able to get to sleep right away though. Her mind was swimming with memories. Some were of Angel while others were of Rainbow Dash. She was thinking about the first time Rainbow Dash had met Angel. It had been just a few days after Fluttershy had rescued him. Rainbow Dash was always the pony who didn't like to show her soft side, but when her eyes first set upon the little baby bunny she melted. Fluttershy had never seen her friend act in such a way. Rainbow Dash had spoken very quietly to Angel and had fallen in love with him in an instant. The two of them had quick friends, though nopony apart from Fluttershy actually knew this. As Fluttershy thought about this memory, a smile came across her face. This memory made her smile. Those were good times.
**********
Rainbow Dash sat downstairs, holding an almost empty bottle of wine in her hooves. Every once in a while she'd let of a soft hiccup. Her eyes were swollen and red from crying. She knew she had hurt her friend, fearing that there was no chance of forgiveness. Rubbing her temples and groaning, Rainbow Dash drained the last swig of wine from the bottle and dropped the bottle onto the floor. She hadn't drank much, but she was still slightly tipsy. Pegasi could not hold alcohol very well. Rainbow Dash decided it would be best if she just rested her eyes and thought over everything that had just happened.
**********
Rainbow Dash woke up and rubbed her head. It hurt, but luckily she hadn't drunk enough to give herself a hangover. Yawning, she looked over at the clock to see that she had been napping for just over an hour. Luckily that hour had given her enough time to recollect her thoughts and think about what she had said. She knew she was in the wrong and that she needs to apologize to Fluttershy. First, though, she knew she needed to make dinner. After snooping through Fluttershy's kitchen, she managed, despite her rather poor cooking skills, to whip up mandarin and walnut salads for both Fluttershy and herself. She placed them on the table and then quietly made her way upstairs.
"Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash whispered.
There was a quiet grumble as Fluttershy slowly crawled out of bed.
"I...uh made dinner if you'd like to come downstairs," Rainbow Dash announced.
Rainbow Dash didn't know what else to say, so she went downstairs and sat at the table. Despite wanting to be polite and wait for Fluttershy, her stomach said wouldn’t leave her alone, so she dug in to her salad. As she was eating, Rainbow Dash heard the creaking of stairs. She looked up and saw Fluttershy slowly trudging down from her room.
"Hungry?" Rainbow Dash asked in a rather playful manner.
Fluttershy nodded and sat down at the table and proceeded to eat. There was a lot of uneasy tension in the air. They ate in an awkward silence, only for it to be broken by Rainbow Dash about five minutes later.
"Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash started, "I'm...I'm sorry for what I said. I had no right to say those things. I realized that you were right. I truly don't know what you're feeling. I don't know what it's like to lose something I hold near and dear to me, and I really wish I knew so I could understand why you are in this state. I really hope you can forgive me for what I said, Fluttershy."
Fluttershy looked up from her salad. Luckily for Rainbow Dash, she wasn't crying. In fact, she appeared to have a small smile on her face.
"Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy began , "For starters, I forgive you. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I'm just so distraught about Angel's passing. Also, I want to thank you."
Rainbow Dash was confused. She swallowed her mouthful of food and spoke up. "Why are you thanking me?"
"For what you're doing," Fluttershy responded, "You stayed and even found a way inside my cottage after I told you to leave. You stuck around even though I gave you head pains. Even after I yelled at you, here you are, right in front of me."
Rainbow Dash was lost for words. "I mean...well...you're welcome Fluttershy. I did think about leaving a few times, but...I couldn't bring myself to do that. I care about you way too much."
Rainbow Dash felt some tears welling in her eyes. She tried to wipe them away, but they kept on flowing, so she covered her face in embarrassment. As she cried, she felt Fluttershy wrap her hooves around her.
"You know Rainbow, sometimes it's good to cry," Fluttershy explained softly.
Rainbow Dash sniffed and wiped more tears from her eyes before chuckling a bit. "Aww.. You know me Fluttershy. Crying is not cool."
Fluttershy broke into a fit of giggles, and Rainbow Dash joined her.
"There's the Fluttershy I know and love," Rainbow Dash laughed.
Rainbow Dash decided to stay the night so she could keep comforting Fluttershy; however, it appeared that Fluttershy didn’t need it in the end. She was pretty much her normal self again. They decided to go to bed early since they both were extremely tired. As they were crawling into bed, Rainbow Dash brought up a very awkward question.
"So...what are you going to do Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash asked nervously.
Fluttershy was silent as she thought about it. "I'm not sure. Inside I'm still really hurt. I don't think I'll be able to move on anytime soon. Angel was just such a big part of my life. I'm at least happy to know that I have friends who will be able to help me in my time of need."
Rainbow Dash wrapped her hooves around Fluttershy and nuzzled her. "What are friends for?"
Fluttershy smiled and nuzzled Rainbow Dash back. As they crawled into bed Fluttershy cuddled up next to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow's face lit up pink in embarrassment. While she didn't mind cuddling with her friends, it always caught her off guard.
"Rainbow Dash...you're...you're the best friend I've ever had,” Fluttershy whispered in Rainbow Dash's ear.
"You're my best friend too Fluttershy."
Author's Note
Huzzah Friendshipping! This one has been in the works for a while and I'm glad to finally get it out. If you see any mistakes please let me know so I can fix them.
