The Signs of an Angel

Over the next year, the small mare didn't grow much, if at all. Her coat however, became a much more vibrant shade of pink that it was before. The scar around over her left eye had faded slightly, leaving a small pink indentation on her small, gaunt face that was nearly invisible unless looked at from an angle. She took very good care of her mane and tail, especially her tail. She sits for long periods of time brushing and smoothing her tail out.

One afternoon, she begins to cry almost as soon as she wakes up. She wakes up and slowly moves the blanket from over her, feeling a bit more air on the back of her hind legs, but didn't seem too bothered by it.She walk toward the door of her room, not feeling the brushing of her tail across her hind legs. She looks back at and her tail had completely disappeared, she had known it was coming for several months. Ever since she had seen hairs falling out in the shower each night. Now, the reality hits her and she begins to cry as she heads downstairs, locking the door only a few minutes before Cloud Watcher finished his morning routine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Moments Earlier~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Cloud Watcher? Do you think that Mayflower would like this book?" Twilight spoke as she came out of her bedroom, her mane still a mess as she had just woken up moments before.

"I'm sure she'll love it Twilight-" He whispers the rest of the sentence to himself, "-She'll love anything you give her."

Twilight cocked and eye at his whispered phrase, "Why do you think that?"

Watcher's eyes widened a bit as he turned back toward Twilight, "I-I didn't say anything!" He nervously squeaks as his breathing becomes shaky for a moment.

"Now Cloud Watcher, I know you well enough to know when you're trying to keep things from me." She smiles warmly as her horn glows for a split second another book coming down from the bookshelf behind Watcher. "So, she'd like anything I gave her... That gives me lots of choices!"

Watcher gave Twilight a silly smile and started chuckling, "I think that giving her a flower along with the book, would be a nice addition." His smile widened and he took a few steps toward her, whispering in her ear. "You haven't realized how much she adores you, huh? You're so oblivious sometimes, you know that?"

Twilight stares at him, confusion spreading quickly across her facial features. "Sh-she adores me...?" Twilight looks around the room and then runs up the stairs into the bathroom. "I'll be down in a few moments! I have to find something!"

Watcher blinks a few times as he stares at the flight of steps, jumping at the sound of a loud thump.

"Spike! Spike where are- Oh... You're not here anymore..." Twilight lay under a pile of books, remembering the day that Spike had left. His greed had caused him major problems in Ponyville and nearly everypony wanted him gone. Even his lifelong crush, Rarity, had wanted to see him gone from Ponyville. "I wonder where you are now Spike..." She looks to the stairs as she hears Watcher coming up.

"You look like you could use some help there Twi." He reaches the top of the stairs and in mid-sentence walks over to Twilight, moving large books off of her back. "Please, if you're going to do something like this, ask for help. I'll have no problem lending a hoof to somepony that I care for as deeply as you. You're like family to me, you were one of the first ponies in Ponyville to actually understand and accept me."

Twilight stared at Cloud Watcher as he effortlessly moved the immense books off of her, wrapping her hooves around him as a sister would her brother. Unable to find any words to respond to him with, tears began to form in her eyes.

Watcher's eyes widened as he felt her begin to tremble, hearing sniffles coming from her as well. "Twilight, are you alright...?" He hugged her back tightly, but not tight enough to constrict her movement.

"Help me... My friends are all breaking apart... and I can't do anything to stop it..." She whispered in-between breaths, unable to find the ability to bring her voice any louder. "I-I don't know how... To help them Cloud Watcher..."

Cloud Watcher freezes as his eyes close, an image burning into his mind. Shattered glass, a scream, and a cape hanging from a window. He begins coughing shortly after and blood sprays from his throat onto Twilight's back and the ground behind her.

The sound of breaking glass shatters this premonition's hold on his mind as a mare screams loudly. Several ponies in Ponyville come outside their houses when they hear the scream, looking around to see what may have happened.

"Mayflower!" Cloud Watcher stands Twilight up and balances her before bolting back down the stairs and out the door, in the direction of his home. "Celestia tell me that wasn't what I think it was..." He whispers to himself as Twilight catches up to him, joining him on his mission, so to speak.

The tear trails were still easily visible on Twilight's face as she ran alongside Cloud Watcher, entirely off balance with her steps. The tone in her voice turned to a much more flat, and somber tone as she spoke. "Not her... Please tell me that wasn't my Flower..."

Cloud Watcher doesn't notice Twilight as his gaze was affixed dead ahead at his home, the upstairs window broken with Trixie's gift, her cape, hanging torn from the window. "No! I will not have failed you like this! Not again!" Cloud Watcher began to tear up a moment before they returned to normal, his face showing obvious signs of an immense anger just below the surface.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Twilight kept right alongside Cloud Watcher as two more ponies joined in the chase, but from above, and out of sight. "Scootaloo, go home. I understand quite well that you know her as well as I do but... I couldn't stand it if you got hurt." A cyan pegasi spoke, wiser than she had been in her younger years. "Please... I don't want to see you get hurt.."

"I know how to fly Dash! I can handle myself, stop being so overprotective! It's annoying..." The younger orange pegasus spoke much the same as Dash herself had when she was the same age. "Stop being such an old mare!"

"I'm not being an old mare. I'm trying not to get you killed." Dash spoke to Scootaloo as a sister, and a mentor. "You don't see it now, but I care more for your safety than anything else."

Scootaloo let out a sigh and looked over at Dash, "Sorry... I just hate when you act like I'm still a filly..." She blushes lightly as she feels a hoof through her mane.

"I know you do, I'm still trying to get used to you being like me." Dash chuckles a moment before looking forward again, "Now, to the most important thing."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another sound fills the ears of the residents of Ponyville as Cloud Watcher freezes in mid-step, flipping head over heels and sliding several feet on his side. "Nggghh... Aaccchhh!" His heart ceases beating as he flips through the air, sliding across the ground with a sickening crack. Blood was coming from both nostrils and the left side of his mouth, a steady dripping as he lay motionless.

Twilight stops running as she sees Cloud Watcher flip through the air, the sound causing her to cringe and immediately start rushing to his side. She begins crying as soon as she reaches him, gently putting a hoof to his chest and feeling no heartbeat.

As Twilight rushed over to him, many other ponies rushed over as well, unsure of exactly what happened. One of these ponies was Pinkie Pie, the first pony that he met when he had arrived in Ponyville. She had asked the cakes for a room for him to sleep in for a while, and they began to form feelings. This, began to blossom into love, and quickly to marriage. One foal was conceived, but alas, had died only months after birth of complications.

She fell to the ground and put her hoof over Cloud Watcher, burying her muzzle into his chest. There she lay for an hour before the consoling hoof of Twilight on her back had left them at the hospital, where Cadance began trying to revive him. With no avail, she laid a hoof on Pinkie's shoulder, tears forming in her own eyes at the loss of her former guard captain.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"And in that horrible day,

A brother, a lover  was lost.

A beaming ray of light

in this bleak night

Now resting in the clouds,

As he had always wished.

Was he a watcher?

Or rather a protector?

Who lost his will and way,

during the pain and the flay.