Darkest of Nights

Fluttershy sat alone in the middle of the park. The absence of ponies could be explained by the rain pelting down, and the crashes and clashes of thunder and lightning overhead. But the yellow pegasus didn't seem to mind. In fact, she seemed to even enjoy sitting in the rain.

Next to Fluttershy lay a cardboard box. A corner of a heavy wooden blanket peeked over the edge, and a long, white ear poked out of the top of it. It had the structure of a rabbit's ear; and that, of course, was what it was. The 'lid' was open, and if a pegasus flew directly above it, not that they would in this storm, they would have seen two lifeless black eyes and a forever gaping mouth. The city's conditions did not do much in the favour of animals.

Tears and sweat mixed with the raindrops on Fluttershy's face so that it all ran onto the ground, landing in a pool of mud and water. Her eyes were red from lack of sleep, and stared into space. Her mouth hung slightly open, like her rabbit's, but she was definitely alive. In fact, she became more alive with every rise and fall of her chest.

"I was...so stupid..."

The voice belonged to Fluttershy, not that it was obvious. She barely moved her mouth to speak, and the fact that it was already open seemed to help. If anypony was listening to her murmurs, they wouldn't be able to tell what she had done wrong. Not that anypony expected her to. She was the sweet sort of pony you wouldn't expect to live in such poor conditions. The magic Waves had destroyed almost everything.

"...I...shouldn't...have done...it..."

Her words seemed so far away, like an echo. Like the pony sitting on that chair was just a shadow of the real Fluttershy, an echo. Echoes don't do anything, other than speak when they are spoken to. She was certainly doing nothing. But if one looked closely, she was trembling violently. It was hard to make out in the haze of the rain, with one colour blending into another.

"I started this."

She sounded so much stronger already, as if she was gaining confidence with every word. But with every word, her emotions seemed to ebb away. Her voice was plain and flat. Louder, but emotionless. More emotionless than anypony could or should talk like. One couldn't help but pity her when she has moments like this. They said it was losing Angel that had made her so sad. No. It was losing everypony she knew and cared for. She would never have a friendly conversation with anypony again. There was no trust or friendship. It was...

"...all a lie. I lied to everyone."

Lying was a part of everyday life now. It was a habit for everypony. It had started to keep the fillies safe from the truth and severity of the situation. But it wasn't the fillies who needed keeping safe. It was the adults who thought this would ever be a good idea. And, typically, they were the first to die in the second Wave.

"I was the one who helped her into power. I started this. I am a monster."

There was not one pony that this could be not truer for. Fluttershy was a kind, generous pegasus - there we go, more lies. More lies, and more suffering, and more hatred, and more pain. More deaths. More secrets out on the streets, spreading through every town via the means of the wanderers who were smart to leave. Smart to leave Equestria while they still had the chance. No pony was getting through the Dome now.

"I taught her how to do the Waves. The three Waves of magic that destroyed everything, made it lifeless and dead."

Lifeless and dead was right. No trees nor plants grew anywhere here now, and the animals started dying out. Ponies could only survive by evolving and scavenging. Some had sold their ponyity to become something more, something worse. Fluttershy had never changed, because she was not meant to survive. She was a monster. Or, if she wasn't, she had made certain the rise of the most evil of all.

"Nightmare Moon. May you find peace with every step you take. May you learn the true meaning and values of friendship. May you live long, and help your ponies live long too. May the kingdom you have eternally imagined come, and may, then, you finally realise your mistakes, and forgive me for thinking you were ready. I am sorry, Nightmare Moon. I ask your forgiveness and sincere apologies in the name of your dead sister, the deceased-but-no-less-great Celestia."

That was the last her voice ever spoke. Fluttershy's motionless eyes continued staring into space, seeing truly nothing forevermore, as she left to join Angel in a better world, a world not ridden with poverty in hatred. She turned her back on Equestria and never looked back again.