She’d stopped trying to bring her back.

She only came back when she felt like it, in dreams and lies and broken-down déjà vu, only to remind her once again that she was gone. Gone forever.

Like, she’ll be working at Cloudsdale, only to find a yellow pony with a pink mane standing in the corner-and she could have sworn, for at least half a choking moment, that is was her.

Then she’s see that her mane change back to orange, or even red sometimes, snapping her back to reality.

Then it would happen again and she’ll see that she was still wearing the blue flower on her head, still carrying the bunny on her back.

She always hated that bunny. Angel never deserved Fluttershy.

Fluttershy…

Standing behind her at that instant, silent.

The shock sent Rainbow Dash out of the bed, gasping and choking, letting oxygen back into her system, making everything just now seem drabber and flatter and never good enough.

Fluttershy ruining everything.

Fluttershy, gone. Gone forever.

She had to remind herself again as her head slumped back into the pillow. The painful truth, her decision, reality.

She’d stopped trying to bring her back.

A cool breeze swept over the kingdom of Equestria as the land welcomed the arrival of fall. Ponies around the region were enjoying the calmness and relaxation of the season, the young ones playing in the leaves while the adults shooed them away playfully, smiles on all of their faces, an unique feeling that only autumn could bring.

It was no exception in Ponyville, where the lazy sun shone over the crystal castle, casting a mysterious shade of light that seemed to project itself all over the town. It was a school holiday and the cutie mark crusaders were once again exploring and searching for their hidden talents while the townspeople watched closely, fearing slightly of a tiny chance of chaos or another ear shattering performance, though it happened rarely now.

The rest of the Apple's were counting their harvest while collecting the seeds from the vampire fruit bats to use once again during the beginning of spring. Even the storeowners in the market and the stores were taking a break, the workday suspended and leaving a whole period out for relaxation for sundown.

As for the mane 6, nothing was really out of the ordinary either. Twilight was stacking the remaining books in the castle library with Rarity’s help, levitating them one by one and placing them neatly in categorized shelves, much to the other’s dismay.

Pinkie was holding the second birthday party for the cake twins, and from the many explosions in the store it was obvious that she would have a lot to clean up after the celebration, though it was all in good fun nevertheless, balancing responsibility with enjoyment. Applejack was with her family, and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were together in the outskirts of the woods outside her cottage, having a small picnic together with Angel and Tank.

“It’s been a while since we hung out together, Fluttershy.” Rainbow remarked with her mouth full with a hay burger she bought, spraying a bit of breadcrumbs onto the red and white cloth.

“Er…yes, it really has been quite a while, Dashie.” Fluttershy said while calling on a flock of ducks and birds, which happily devoured the crumbs that Rainbow dropped.

“So, what do you want to do next after this? There’s a new nature crossing I found to the north of the Everfree forest that we could walk through, or we could even fly over to the Rainbow Falls and maybe find some rare animals over there to adopt, I guess.”

Her enthusiasm was clearly shown, but Fluttershy didn’t look really into the mood for anything of the sort, her expression remaining impassive with the same small smile.

“Well, I don’t really know about that, Rainbow. The Everfree forest is kind of dangerous at this hour, and I need to take care of Angel, since he seems to be having a slight cold.” The rabbit, upon hearing those words from the distance feigned a cough.

“Don’t you think that he’s faking again like the last time this happened?” Rainbow asked, annoyed.

“You should never ignore the benefit of the doubt.” Fluttershy said as Angel scurried over to her lap and sat on it.

“But what about another picnic some other time then? Or do you want to go and see the butterfly migration tomorrow?”

“I’m sorry, Dashie, but I’m really busy with caring all the animals at my cottage, and I’m not sure that I can be able to join you again.”

“But what about next week then? Next month?”

“I don’t think that I would have the time to do so, Rainbow.”

The rainbow pony couldn’t take it anymore. She stood up and confronted Fluttershy face-to-face, desperate rage shown in her expression.

“That’s it. Why are you deliberately avoiding hanging out with me in particular? Why is it that when you’re with Rarity, Twilight, Applejack, even Pinkie you’re so willing to talk to them! Even when we participated in the Equestria Games, all you said was generic and honestly the same during both training and racing!” Rainbow Dash yelled, angry.

Her sudden outburst took Fluttershy by surprise, and even Angel quickly ran off back towards the cottage, leaving the two with Tank, who watched them with his mouth dropped.

“What are you talking about…”

“Think about it. We helped each other out when we were fillies during our time in Cloudsdale. We were good friends! Then suddenly you disappeared and went to Ponyville and when I followed you, you were distant and silent, forcing me to leave you alone. “

“I didn’t mean to do that…”

“Only after Twilight came and created a new group of friends did you socialize, and even though we are all grown up now we still need each other’s help. You chose my pet, cheered for me during the Young Fliers Competition, and I tried my best to support you when we transported that water with the other Pegasus ponies. Then it was all back to square one. What happened Fluttershy, What happened?!”

A long silence echoed among the grassland. Tank was hiding in his shell, too scared to leave the area. Finally, Fluttershy spoke.

“I’m sorry if you think of me like that, but you’re scaring the animals right now. I would appreciate it if you leave them out of this.” She retorted with a slight hint of anger in her tone.

“You’re not answering my question!”

“There is nothing to answer for. You’re my friend and if you want it to stay that way, please calm down.”

“Fine! Be like that! I’m leaving!” And with those words the grass separated wildly as she shot into the sky, leaving a rainbow line.

“………………………….”

Staring at the ground that Rainbow projected off from, she neatly dusted the grass and flattened the pasture to its original shape, not saying a word, not even to the petrified Tank, who slowly flew off towards Rainbow Dash’s direction.

If only she knew the truth behind her actions. If only she knew.

If only she knew the truth…

If only…

The world suddenly blackened around her, and there was silence, the only sound being the increased wind speed as her friend returned.

“Flutters, I sorry that I yelled at you just now. Maybe we could have a compromise…Fluttershy?”

Rainbow shook her. There was no response. Her eyes were lifeless. Her whole body was cold.

“Fluttershy?! FLUTTERSHY!!!”

Author's Note

Before anyone says anything, I am not shipping both of these characters.