It was dark outside. Not quite dusk, but about an hour before it. What really made it dark was the massive cloud bank that loomed over Ponyville and threatened to rain.
Fluttershy sat quietly in a nook by one of her windows, watching as the tall, thick clouds slowly rolled in. Her house sat silent, a stark contrast to the cacophony of animal sounds that usually filled it. The birds were gone, Fluttershy remembered helping lead some of them south for the winter. Many of her other friends had just started hibernating leaving only the small mammals to run around in her house. Unfortunately, those friends were hiding in their tiny hoof made houses. She felt alone.
Fluttershy turned a black veil around in her hooves. It felt coarse and heavy, almost like one of Rarity’s gem encrusted headdresses, except that it wasn’t, it was just a simple veil. She shifted a bit but felt something catch on the dress she was wearing. A quick inspection revealed that a splinter from the wall had embedded itself in the dark fabric, and was dangerously close to tearing it. A small brush from her wings was thankfully enough to dislodge the offending splinter without any damage. If she had ripped the dress, Fluttershy was sure that Rarity would have thrown a fit. The thought brought a small smile but it quickly disappeared after remembering why she was wearing the black dress in the first place.
Sometimes friends died, that wasn’t news to her. Some of her animal friends were predators and others were prey. Whenever Fluttershy found a dead animal, she was sure to always pay her proper respects and bury it, even if she didn’t know it personally. This particular time however, struck too close to her heart to even recognize it. She just felt numb, and thoughts like, It’s all a dream, and, It’s not real, constantly played in her mind as she looked into the looming shadow that had fallen over her little cottage.
A speckle of rain appeared on the glass in front of her, solitary and cold, just like how she felt. Soon though, it was followed by other tiny droplets, which joined together into a single raindrop that slid off of the window and out of sight. Fluttershy let out a breath that she didn’t even realize that she was holding. The emptiness of her lungs was soon filled by a familiar tightness that she had known closely for the last day now. It was often comforted by a pillow but for right now, Fluttershy just wanted to feel the tight pain.
She sat in the nook, quietly shuddering, when a small trail of warm liquid made its way down her cheek. In its absence, the trail felt cold against the cool, still air of her cottage. Fluttershy watched as the single teardrop, much like the rain on her window, fell to the ground. Her breathing hitched as more tears followed the example of the first, and suddenly, Fluttershy realized she was crying again. The numbness faded slowly but was instead replaced by a dull ache deep inside her soul.
A knock on her door made her ears twitch. She quickly wiped her eyes with a leg, making sure there was no moisture left on her face. Forcing the ache down, Fluttershy made her way to the door and opened it slowly. Framed by the doorway was Rarity holding a purple umbrella and who was, as always, dressed to impress. She wore a thin veil but around the circlet were tiny onyx stones. Her dress was simple yet elaborate. There were no unnecessary ruffles or folds but there was a shiny black gloss that was interwoven with a matte fabric that Fluttershy couldn’t identify. Black ribbons interwoven into her royal purple hair contrasted well with the snow white of her coat. Fluttershy gave her friend a small smile as she motioned her to come in, closing the door behind her.
Rarity closed her umbrella with her magic and stepped inside. She placed it next to the doorframe then walked over to the pegasus and held her tight.
“How are you feeling, Darling? Is everything alright?” Rarity said, breaking the hug and cupping Fluttershy’s chin with a hoof.
“Oh, everything is fine, Rarity. There’s nothing to worry about,” Fluttershy replied, desperately trying to keep the tightness in her throat from making itself known.
“That’s not what your eyes are saying, dear. Look at you, they’re all swollen and red!” Rarity clucked, sounding like she usually did whenever she went into mother mode.
“I’m fine, Rarity. Really,” Fluttershy insisted, thankful that the whispery quality to her voice covered the uncertainty she was feeling.
“It’s okay to cry, dear, just let us be there with you,” said Rarity, as she gently rubbed Fluttershy’s cheek.
“Yeah, okay,” said Fluttershy meekly.
Another knock sounded from her door, drawing Rarity’s attention away from her shy friend.
“I’ll get it, darling. Why don’t you go sit down,” she suggested. Fluttershy nodded and sat down on the small green couch that sat in the corner. She watched as Rarity opened the door and greeted whoever was behind it, Fluttershy couldn’t really see from the angle she was sitting in. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, and Pinkie Pie all walked in and Fluttershy felt a little better at seeing them. They were all wearing some type of black clothing; Rainbow wore a small black bowtie that she kept tugging at, Applejack had replaced her normal hair ties with black ribbons, and Twilight and Pinkie both wore simple black dresses.
They all came over to the small couch and chair combo that she was sitting in and slightly surrounded her. A wave or claustrophobia washed over her, but quickly passed once her brain realized it was just her friends. Applejack spoke first, her accent made Fluttershy feel a little safer, like she was surrounded by close family.
“Now everythin’ll be alright, Fluttershy. Big Mac already dug up a hole and nailed a coffin, so you have nothin’ to worry about.”
“Yeah! There’s no reason to be sad, he’s in a better place now,” Pinkie said, her bubbly personality cutting through the gloom of the room.
“We’re all here for you, no matter what,” came the raspy voice of Rainbow Dash.
“T-thanks everypony. For everything,” said Fluttershy, her voice catching a little eliciting an ‘aww’ from Pinkie Pie. Pinkie sat next to the pegasus and gently threw her legs around her and held her tight. Fluttershy leaned into the hug and felt the legs of her four other friends wrap around her. The cuckoo clock on the wall rang six times as a small mechanical rabbit hopped around its track.
“It looks like it’s time,” said Twilight, leaving the hug. “Are you ready, Fluttershy?”
“Y-yeah.”
Behind Fluttershy’s cottage was a small hill that overlooked the Everfree forest as well as her property. Directly on the crest of the hill was a small hole, and next to it was a small mound of dirt. The large red figure of Big Mac could be seen resting on a spade as he watched the six mares make their way up the rain slicked grass. A light drizzle still rained down from the clouds coating everything in a dew. With a spark of her horn, Twilight conjured a large purple dome over the hill, much to the relief of all involved.
Applejack tipped her stetson to her brother who nodded back. Fluttershy walked up to the hole, which already had a small pine coffin half suspended by ropes hanging in it. She placed a hoof in the middle and closed her eyes. She felt a hoof on her shoulder and opened her eyes to see Applejack’s orange foreleg as well as her small frown. Leading her away, Applejack looked back to Big Mac.
Fluttershy along with her friends stood in an arc around the grave as Bic Mac lowered the coffin into the ground. He filled in the dirt over it until the only change in the hill was a small square of fresh dirt. Her friends hugged her and left one by one until the only two ponies on the hill were herself and Big Mac.
Fluttershy looked into the green eyes of the stallion. “Do you really think that he’s in a better place?”
“Eeyup.”
“Are you sure? I know that he was a little naughty sometimes but do you think that might not let him go to a better place?”
“Nnope.”
“Why?”
“Because it don’t matter what he did sometimes, it matters what he did all the time. And that was loving you.”
Fluttershy nodded, though she never really heard Big Mac speak often, he sure had a way with words.
“Here,” he said. Fluttershy looked to the red stallion to see a carrot resting in his hoof.
“Thanks, Big Mac.”
Fluttershy took the carrot in her teeth and placed it directly on the dirt.
“Ah’ll bring by a headstone in th’ mornin’,” he said. Fluttershy nodded as he walked down the hill.
Fluttershy was alone again, and for the first time in two days, she didn’t feel lonely. A tear slid down her cheek, and developed into tears, but this time was accompanied by a small smile. She kissed the dirt right below the carrot.
“Goodbye… Angel.”
