Fluttershy stood on the edge of the lonesome bank. Her vision was clouded by the tears in her eyes. The tall blades of grass slightly danced around her back legs as she shifted her weight. She was near the back of her property where a small creek ran, and she had just sent her dearest treasure down it. Angel bunny had died, and now she’d never see him again.
It was this morning that she had found him. He was lying cold and a little stiff in his bed. Fluttershy concluded that he must had died early in his sleep last night. He had been under the weather, but Fluttershy hadn’t thought he was ill enough for it to be fatal.
Fluttershy didn’t wake any of the other animals, but as the morning wore on they woke and they just seem to know. They all gathered a few steps behind Fluttershy. They watched her silently. Not one making the slightest movement. Except the hummingbird who hovered in the air, but even she seemed to be hovering a little slower than usual.
Fluttershy took the little, white body, and wrapped it up in a very warm blanket. She loving placed him in a handmade rabbit coffin, along with some fresh carrots. She had quite a few coffins deep in her cellar. She made and sold them especially for pets, as sort of a side business. None of her friends knew about it.
In fact, none of her friends knew about Angel’s death yet. After she had sealed up the coffin, Fluttershy and the other animals gathered for a very private, and impromptu funeral service. Some of them cried, but most of them just stood there as the yellow Pegasus uttered a few words. Then Fluttershy gather up the coffin, placed a lit candle on top of it, and let it sail away. It was a very dark and dreary day, and all Fluttershy could see now was the little glow of the candle sailing farther and farther away.
A single tear finally fell down her cheek. She slowly wiped it away as more began to fall. She was glad she had not invited her friends. None of them cared about Angel the way she did. She remembered the reason she had cared so much for Angel in the first place. A few years ago, a pony in Ponyville, had a bunny with a rather large litter. Very shortly after their birth, they had all contracted a disease and died. They had all died except Angel Bunny. None of the other ponies wanted him, they didn’t want to risk him being a carrier of the disease. Fluttershy didn't care. She knew Angel bunny was a fighter. He was something Fluttershy wanted to be. Someone who could fight for their right and actually get what he wanted. Angel wasn’t shy. He couldn’t be. He knew from a very early age that this was a hard and cruel world. Angel was determined, and he didn’t care what anybody thought. Her friends didn’t understand that, and never would. They thought Angel to just be rude and obnoxious. Fluttershy would have taken ten times the rudeness if it meant she could spend a little more time with her friend.
Fluttershy was weeping profoundly now. She saw the last little bit of candlelight fade into the foggy backdrop. She sucked it up as best she could, and tried to gather herself. Someone was sure to come by soon and she didn’t want to look like a wreck. She looked down and saw a little clear pebble, by her hoof, in the sand. She pushed it as far into the sand as it would go. She then made a little pile of sand on top of it. Maybe she should of have buried Angel, she thought. She dismissed the thought. It was too late now. She trotted back toward her cottage. It seemed impossibly far, but she had other animals who needed care.
Twilight didn’t know why she had walked all the way down to the creek so early in the morning. Well, she didn’t know until a little bunny size coffin with a single candle floated by her. It was one of Fluttershy’s. One that she kept in the cellar, and she thought none of her friends knew about. Twilight knew which bunny was inside it too. Twilight did the very first spell she ever learned, the one that allowed a little light to glow on top of her horn. Then walked out a little ways into the creek. Mud and leaves clung to her hooves. She dare not go any farther unless she wanted to get stuck. She gave a little nod to the coffin and its cargo and then turned and started to gallop as fast as she could toward Fluttershy’s cottage.
Fluttershy saw the soft purple glow from her window. She thought nothing of it. She turned her back to the window and started to climb up the stairs. She needed to start breakfast, the other animals would be getting hungry soon. She couldn’t bring herself to do it. She couldn’t bring herself to do anything right now. The world just seemed impossibly overwhelming at the moment. All she wanted to do was go to bed, and to sleep for a very long time. She her a little knock and her door. She almost ignored it, but turned around and climbed slowly down the stairs. When she open the door there was a very melancholy purple alicorn looking back at her.
Twilight grabbed her friend in a hug without even thinking about it. The yellow pegasus felt cold and stiff, but her body seemed to melt under Twilight’s embrace. The only thing Fluttershy could think to say was about how Twilight knew. Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to ask the question. The two ponies just stood there embracing in Fluttershy’s doorway. A slightly cool breeze blew past them into the cottage. A single tear fell from Fluttershy’s cheek onto the wooden floor. The sun started to peak through the darkened clouds.
Author's Note
-I struggled with this story reaching the 1,000 word minimum.
-Twilight originally was never going to be in the story. I added her at the end.