After the passing of her precious Angel bunny, Fluttershy was trying not to fall victim to the darkness of depression. Even when the sun graced Ponyville with the brightest rays it possibly could, Fluttershy found herself resenting every minute of it. Even on the brightest days, Fluttershy couldn't seem to get herself out of her cottage, but even if it hurt most to be there, it was like it hurt more to be outside, enjoying the brightness of the day. When she saw fillies running out of Sugarcube Corner with crumbs on their faces, their smiling mouths didn't help her smile. Even when her animals pulled at her mane and tail and wing feathers, chittering for her to get up. She resisted.
Twilight knocked on her friend's cottage door gently, her hoof tap-tapping on the wood. She heard a sniffle from inside. "Come in..." she said, with a small sob afterwards. She opened the two parts of the door, and closed it behind her. She walked over to Fluttershy's couch, where the pegasus resided, and had for days. "Fluttershy, you should come get some fresh air..." She patted her friend's back.
"I've tried, Twilight...I just can't bring myself to enjoy it." she said, with a sad voice.
"Fluttershy, I know it's hard but--"
"You don't know, Twilight! You still have Spike! And Rarity has Sweetie Belle, and Applejack has Applebloom, and Dashie has Scootaloo....and...and..."
"Pinkie doesn't have anyone?"
"Pinkie has Gummy!" Twilight mouthed a barely visible 'oh'.
After hours had passed, Twilight's flanks were going numb from sitting next to her friend's green couch for this long. She began to stand, and then transferred spots to next to her friend's back hooves, sitting down on the only spot that wasn't taken up by Fluttershy. One of the other bunnies that was close friends with Angel walked over to the couch, jumping up onto Fluttershy's head and curled up in her mane. Upon Fluttershy not flinching, Twilight realized that she was sleeping. She curled up at the end of the couch, deciding to nap.
When Fluttershy awoke, She noticed the bunny on her head, and her friend napping at her hooves. Her stomach was very unhappy with her, due to not being fed. She almost got up, but then decided against it. She wouldn't be strong enough to get up, she thought. She wanted to eat. She finally realized she was hungry. She finally decided that she could feel. She decided she would allow herself to feel.
So she waited for Twilight to wake up.
Twilight yawned after waking up, her tail uncurling from around her. "Hi, Fluttershy. Are you feeling better?"
"I'm a little hungry." This was an epiphany. She was feeling something. She knew that when ponies were depressed, or struggling not to be, would not feel, or refused to, because when they felt, they felt anger or sadness, and they didn't want to feel that. Nopony ever wanted to feel that, or at least Twilight knew she didn't. She got up, and walked into Fluttershy's kitchen. She looked in the fridge, but found nothing except for moldy food. She cringed, and threw it all in the trash, then wrapped up the trashbag, and levitated it out of the kitchen alongside her. "Fluttershy, because nopony ate this food, it got moldy. So now you have nothing decent to eat, which means I can go get us something from the Hayburger."
"Isn't that all the way across town?"
"It's okay, I can just teleport there!" Twilight smiled reassuringly, and Fluttershy managed a tiny smile. The unicorn turned around, the bag still levitating beside her.
After she put the trashbag in the garbage can next to Fluttershy's cottage, Twilight teleported next to the Hayburger, then walked into the building. She walked up to the counter. "To go, please." she said, and the waiter turned around, then walked into the kitchen. "To go fries an' hayburger, mm'kay?" he spoke. She sat on a red stool, her right forehoof on the counter, flattened against the cold surface.
"So, has Fluttershy made any breakthroughs?" came a voice from the doorway. Twilight looked at the doorway, and found Rainbow Dash there.
"Yeah. She's decided she was hungry."
"Really?"
"Mmyeah." She stared off into the distance, her eyes staring out the window. Rainbow sat next to her, then spun her around. She placed her hooves on Twilight's shoulders, and spoke slowly. "She will be okay."
"I know, but I can't stand to see her this way!"
"Pinkie feels that way, too. Her mane has been deflated lately." Twilight let her gaze wander to the floor after they had spun around to face Rainbow.
"Y'order is ready, gal." Twilight looked at the waiter, then took the bag, levitating it. She nodded her head, and Rainbow followed her as she trotted out the door.
"I need to get this food to Fluttershy as quickly as possible." Rainbow nodded, then started flapping her wings, heading to her cloud house that was currently floating above Sugarcube Corner.
As she arrived at Fluttershy's cottage, Twilight opened the door. She walked in, finding Fluttershy asleep once again on the couch. She poked her friend gently, and she awoke. "Food's here."
"Oh, thank you, Twilight." The unicorn nodded, and levitated Fluttershy's meal out to her. She ate her own meal as well, seeing the sun's bright rays shine brightly on the small cottage. Fluttershy noticed this as well, and she felt her mouth curve upwards oh-so-slightly.
She was feeling better.
She was most definitely feeling better.
Right?
It had been a few weeks, and Fluttershy was still a bit sad, but stronger and happier than before. She was rebuilding herself, and it was going well. Angel chittered softly before he passed, and it wasn't until now that Fluttershy had thought about it and found out what he said. She was picking out a book in Twilight's library, and Twilight had told her, "This is my story, but I don't put it on bookshelves. I just write stuff sometimes for fun," when she figured it out. She collapsed, and buried her face in her hooves. "Angel..." she gasped, "said something before he...he..." she said in between sobs. Twilight sat next to her, rubbing the base of her wings comfortingly.
"What did he say, Fluttershy?"
"I c-can't..."
"Please, you have to tell me what he said!"
"He said...he said..."
"Yeah?"
"'Run you clever mare...and remember me'..."
"Oh, Fluttershy..." The pegasus wept while Twilight rubbed her friend's back.
"It's okay, Fluttershy."
After she'd calmed down, Twilight decided to ask.
"What do you think he meant?"
Fluttershy thought. She thought long and hard. She came up with no answer.
None at all.
What did he mean?
