The sun was setting off in the horizon as the birds sung their last shrill melody of the night before retiring to the safety of their nests, the bees buzzing near flowers began to die down as the sun dropped and the gentle splashing of fish in the river began to cease as the night encouraged bountiful rest. Fluttershy sat outside her small cottage admiring the beautiful scene created for her by the beautiful mixing of night and day, she was tired that night and was about to prepare for bed when something began to make her nose twitch.
Something that made her eyes water.
Something that burned her lungs.
Smoke began to rise from in the distance in the forest, from the amount of smoke, Fluttershy could easily distinguish that whatever made the smoke was small, but the smoke began to billow out from the forest and flames began to crackle in the distance, the trees rapidly lit up like candles on a cake. Fearing for her life, Fluttershy galloped out of her cottage and onto the road towards Ponyville to warn others of the oncoming destruction. Taking one last look behind her, she could hardly see the smoke against the dark starless night, any pony looking in the direction of the fire would not have noticed the smoke unless they were purposely looking for it.
When Fluttershy reached the outskirts of Ponyville, she could see other ponies had the same idea as her for an early night, Fluttershy gingerly approached the first house she could see and quietly knocked on the door, she waited a few moments for a reaction and was severely disappointed when nothing was heard from inside. She quickly galloped to the next house and knocked the door with her hoof again desperately trying for a reply; once again there was no reply as if the occupants were just ignoring her. Fluttershy tried the next few houses in the lane, each time growing more and more desperate for someone to help. At the end of the street, she looked back towards where her peaceful cottage laid and nearly gasped at the sight she saw, the smoke was now a prominent feature of the night sky and fire could just began to be seen the bottom of the tree-line.
Fluttershy pushed onwards towards the centre of Ponyville, knocking on the doors of every building she saw, even if they were deserted and decrepit, she began to feel alone and scared in the darkness of the night only gently illuminated by the incoming fire, she arrived at the sugar-cube corner and took a second to draw on her reserves of courage and harshly knocked on the door.
The door was opened sharply by Mrs Cake, she seemed extremely annoyed and somewhat out of character, she looked at Fluttershy and sighed, “Fluttershy dear, doesn’t it seem a bit early to pick up the cake you ordered?” Fluttershy stood astounded for a second and squeaked “But…” “No buts!” Mrs Cake said briskly. “You’ll just have to pick it up in the morning like everyone else does.” With that, Mrs Cake shut the door and returned back to bed.
Fluttershy stood staring at the door and sniffled for a second, she quickly turned around and began to slowly walk away crying, she sat down near the café on a bench and her mind began to tumble and twist throughout various emotions. She thought of all the animals, sleeping peacefully in their homes, unaware of the horrible suffering that they would incur any moment; she began to feel anger for the first time in many a moon towards all the ponies who ignored her, she began to wonder what would happen to Ponyville.
Fluttershy’s downward emotional spiral was halted when she looked up for a brief moment, the town of Ponyville looked demonic, the skies were filled with dark clouds and the buildings shone from the closing fires. The town sprung into life as ponies began to wake up to the fiery cataclysm that was now bordering their town. The shrieks of ponies filled the air as everyone realised their potential doom.
Fluttershy calmly stood up from the bench and looked at the hills in the distance; they were charred and black with no signs of life left remaining on them, just like Fluttershy’s heart now. All she ever believed in was ruptured in front of her. Her animal friends would have been burnt alive, helplessly in their homes. The ponies she once trusted with her life left her out in the dark until their own fears had been realised. She had even been thrown to one side like a piece of garbage.
Fluttershy felt nothing inside, she just stood there, the flames now licking the outskirts of Ponyville, and the entire town was now effectively a death-trap with no exit. Brave ponies whisked water to the fire in a useless attempt to save their homes and lives, fillies held tightly to their mothers in fright and some ponies couldn’t take it, some of them broke down into sobbing, quivering wrecks while others stood staring while their teeth chattered and they shook uncontrollably.
Pinkie Pie was walking slowly with her head turned downwards until she bumped into Fluttershy. Fluttershy stumbled and regained her posture; Pinkie Pie looked upwards at Fluttershy and saw deep into her eyes that she was truly a new pony; Pinkie Pie began to sob in a nearly incoherent fashion. “It’s going to be okay? Everything’s going to be just fine isn’t it Fluttershy?!” Pinkie stared straight at Fluttershy with tears streaming down her cheeks; Fluttershy stared back at Pinkie and slowly shook her head. “No!” Pinkie Pie screamed, “It’s going to be fine!” she buckled to her knees and began to bawl uncontrollably, “Applejacks going to be alright! She got out of the barn fire okay and I’ll see her later and we’ll eat ice-cream and laugh at this funny dream! Won’t we Fluttershy?!” Fluttershy felt nothing left in her heart for Pinkie Pie, so she placed her hoof on her forehead and pushed her away. Pinkie Pie fell to the ground and sobbed uncontrollably as Fluttershy walked away.
The air was heating up now as the fire slowly crept inwards towards the centre of the town, the fire-fighters were only buying time for the lucky few to escape. The flames raced towards Pinkie Pie who was still on the ground weeping for her life, Fluttershy looked back towards the flames circling around Pinkie Pie and slowly walked inwards towards the center of the town, Fluttershy heard Pinkie scream as the fire engulfed her, she shrieked for Fluttershy to help her, Fluttershy looked back at the burning pony and a small tear dropped from her eye and it sizzled as it hit the hot ground, she turned her head back and ignored the last pleas of her former friend.
The winds began to pick up and lashed the fires inwards towards the town even faster, a piece of burning wood was caught up in the winds and blew into an open window of Twilight’s library. Fluttershy heard Twilight’s screams from the other side of town; Twilight galloped out her house with her pyjamas on fire brushing against the sides of her door, the entire library was up in flames within the minute as old books would. Twilight gasped in pain as her pyjamas melted to her skin, she ran past Fluttershy with no clear goal in sight, moments afterwards, Spike coming rushing along with a bucket water in an attempt to put Twilight out. Fluttershy followed Spike slowly for no particular reason, as if she just wanted to pass time until her demise. Spike stopped outside the Carousal Boutique which was well ablaze now. Spike thundered inside the burning building and dragged out an unconscious Rarity. Fluttershy stood to one side and watched.
Spike shook Rarity from side to side, “Wake up!” He cried. Her near-lifeless body gasped for air, her lungs ravaged by the thick black smoke. “Please wake up!” Spike continued to cry; he collapsed sobbing onto her barely living body and sobbed into her mane. He looked up and saw Fluttershy peacefully watching, “Don’t just stand there! Do something!” Fluttershy stood still and blinked a couple times, “Why won’t you help me?!” Spike cried. Fluttershy felt one more sharp tear well up to her eye and let it fall onto the hot pathway. She turned around and slowly trotted away leaving Spike with Rarity’s lifeless body in his arms.
Fluttershy walked back towards the centre of the town, within seconds, she knew the flames would decimate Spike and Rarity and within mere minutes, the flames would decimate her too. Fluttershy sat down in the town centre and slowly screened her eyes across all the distraught ponies. Everypony here had a story to tell of how they got here, some managed to get here from the outskirts while other lived just down the road, either way, the town centre was the last place of safety for these ponies; and even then, it couldn’t last forever.
Ignoring the screams of agony from Spike in the distance, Fluttershy stood up and walked around the confined area of unlit buildings, she heard a familiar voice gently calling her name from the distance. She felt drawn to it as she slowed walked towards it, when she found the source of the sound, she looked down and saw Twilight. She was burnt all over with melted fabric embedded in her once luxurious mane. Fluttershy looked at Twilight and remained silent, Twilight spoke softly, ‘I saw the fire, I saw you and I saw the people ignore you.” Fluttershy sniffled, a small ember re-lit inside the heart of Fluttershy, it wasn’t big, but it was an ember.
Twilight continued “I was getting ready for bed when I decided to look out my telescope one last time. When I saw you, I tried to get help but I fell from my telescope’s platform and bumped my head against a pile of books. It knocked me clean out and I awoke to find myself on fire and…” Fluttershy interrupted “It’s alright Twilight.” Fluttershy sniffed “It wasn’t your fault. Twilight smiled and rested her eyes for one last time.
Fluttershy felt the ember roar in an attempt to re-ignite the passion but to no avail, she knelt down towards Twilight and felt the pain of the ponies that she had left, they all had lost someone special in their life and she ignored them, now she felt the pain as the only pony who had shown that they cared for her was now gone. The only pony who truly felt for Fluttershy in this dark time left the mortal coil right in front of her eyes. She felt the love Twilight had shown her and yet at the same time, she felt sorrow.
The flames now licked at Fluttershy’s feet burning her, she felt as though she couldn't just leave her only hope in these times to be charred at the mercy of the flames, she began to drag the former Twilight Sparkle back to the town centre with the flames encircling them behind them. When they reached the centre, all the ponies were bunched in the centre as the flames circled round them. Mere metres separated the townsfolk from the vicious flames. The ponies said their last goodbyes and waited for the fate to be delivered.
The flames licked towards the ponies, the ones on the outer edges felt the searing fire first and tried to beat the flames away to no avail, ponies caught fire one by one, Fluttershy had selectively made her way to the very centre of the pack and when it was only a few metres from her, the ponies round her jumped into the fire to end themselves with as little suffering as possible.
The fires now stood around Fluttershy in an entrancing circle that slowly crept inward, she braced herself for her fate and closed her eyes. “Fly Fluttershy!” Fluttershy quickly snapped her neck upwards to see one last familiar face. Rainbow Dash begged “Save your self Fluttershy! Spread your wings and fly away!” Fluttershy looked at Rainbow Dash and sniffled “I can’t,” Rainbow Dash cried “Why?!” Fluttershy sobbed “I can’t now, I don’t deserve to live now, but you do.” Rainbow Dash took a good look at Fluttershy and sobbed a big fat tear which sizzled upon hitting the ground, and she flew as fast as she could to safety.
Fluttershy looked up at Rainbow Dash as she flew away and closed her eyes for a second and thought of how they met each other in Cloudsdale and how they said they would stay friends forever. She reopened her eyes to see the flames beginning to lick her feet once more from all directions; she couldn’t walk anywhere else now even if she wanted to. All she wanted to do was to lie down and wait. She buckled to her knees and ignored the flames scaring her underside; she flinched as she closed her eyes and laid her head across her body.
The flames seared and burned away at her as she gently sobbed while lying on the grass. She couldn’t feel her legs anymore which gave her slight relief, but she began to feel tired and short of breath, she closed her eyes and laid in the horrific fire and breathed her last breathes.
Fluttershy opened her eyes, she found herself lying comfortably on… nothing, she stood up and glanced at her surroundings, white-nothingness. She continued to look around when she spotted something. Something pink, it was sobbing uncontrollably, Fluttershy walked over to the pink thing and realised it was Pinkie Pie, it was as if Pinkie Pie couldn’t even see Fluttershy.
Fluttershy felt as if she knew what to do, she bent downwards and lifted Pinkie Pie to her feet, a sudden invigoration coursed through Pinkie’s body, she smiled like Pinkie used to and Fluttershy felt a part of herself re-open. In the white nothingness Fluttershy spotted Spike and Rarity, she quickly walked over to them with Pinkie bouncing jovially behind her, she looked at Spike, he was still screaming ‘wake up’ but with no sound coming out of his mouth, Rarity barely looked alive.
Fluttershy bent down again and helped the two to their feet, they both felt a surge of energy course back through their veins. Rarity looked at Fluttershy and nodded approvingly and Spike mouthed ‘thank you’. Fluttershy felt even more of herself comeback. She realised she would have to find one more pony and then ran towards the distance with Rarity, Spike and Pinkie Pie all following suit.
Fluttershy found her goal, Twilight laid motionless on the floor, Fluttershy bent downwards and lifted the deceased pony to its feet, the body stood there for a second, a bright light flashed from Twilight’s chest and she began to cough and splutter, she was alive again, Fluttershy felt the last piece of the puzzle slot back into place. She had helped everyone she had left to die and she helped Twilight.
Fluttershy was now left in limbo with Pinkie Pie, Twilight, Spike and Rarity. She knew that she would meet Applejack and Rainbow Dash in here eventually. But she didn’t want to find them.
Not Just yet.
