"Everypony come inside," called Fluttershy, from just inside of her cottage. "The rain should start falling soon." Animals of all shapes and sizes filed into the shelter of Fluttershy's home. Frantically, Fluttershy cantered outside, grabbing as many birdhouses, as well as other things that could be damaged by the storm, as she could carry. Dark gray clouds loomed overhead, blocking out the last rays of remaining sunshine as the large glowing orb of light and heat slipped below the horizon. No doubt the moon would be raised soon, not that anypony would be able to see it. Fluttershy made it back to her porch just as the first droplets fell from the sky.
Fluttershy watched as the rain landed on the plants outside. The wind started pushing against them, and the green beings began to sway. The dots of water on their surfaces tumbled off in a glittery array. Fluttershy loved how her plants seemed to dance in the rain, but the weather picked up quickly, and Fluttershy's nerves got the best of her. She retreated inside to the comfort of her cottage.
Fluttershy glanced outside through her window. She could no longer hear the individual droplets, just the hum of the storm. Fluttershy quickly closed the curtain once again.
"Maybe I should call Pinkie Pie," Fluttershy said to her fuzzy friends, "In case . . . in case she's lonely." She fluttered over to a nearby phone, and dialed the Cakes' number. Pinkie Pie picked up quicker then expected. Fluttershy nearly dropped the phone in surprise, hooves fumbling over the device.
"Hi Pinkie Pie - - - Yes, it's me - - - Yah, I'm okay - - - Oh, I was just wondering if you wanted to come over to my cottage - - - Um, yes, right now - - - Oh, that's okay - - - yes, yes, it's fine - - - bye." Fluttershy sighed as she hung up the phone. She settled back down onto the floor, but after a moment, she sprung up into the air again, ready to make another call. As it turned out, Twilight was having a sleep over with Applejack and Rarity, her very first, actually. The purple Unicorn hadn't wanted to go out in such weather, either, and Fluttershy apologized for interupting. She then looked once again at all of the animals gathered in her living room. "I suppose Rainbow Dash won't want to come over either."
Soon, a strong wind joined the chaos outside, slapping rain against the cottage. The shutters tore free from their locks and began knocking against the walls. Fluttershy gulped.
"We should do a head count. To make sure everyone made it safely inside and-"
Suddenly, the warm light glowing inside the cottage ceased. Fluttershy shrieked, clutching her friend Harry, a large brown bear. But after her moment of panic, she realized nothing was horribly wrong.
"Oh, oh, it was just the light," Fluttershy giggled sheepishly.
She let go of her furry friend and flew over to the small group of fireflies in the corner. Fluttershy encouraged them to proceed, but they were too weak to continue.
"That's okay. I think I have some candles around here somewhere," Fluttershy said, looking around. She opened a closet to find three, blunt little candles and a couple matchsticks. Soon, the cottage was once again filled with light, but she watched nervously as she imagined the candles becoming shorter and shorter. Attempting to distract herself, she stared her count of the animals.
"Nine . . . ten . . . eleven? Only eleven bunnies! Who's missing," gasped Fluttershy. "Angel? Angel! Angel where are you?" Fluttershy frantically began searching her house for him, but he didn't appear to be anywhere. A large, white, bolt of lightning shot through the sky, and the ground shuttered in reply. Despite this, Fluttershy tore open the curtains. The windows were covered in rain, distorting the trees and bushes before her in a dream like manor. If only this were just a simple nightmare.
"Oh Angel, this is all my fault." Fluttershy's eyes started to burn with tears as she crumpled into a heap on the floor. She cried for the danger she had put her precious pet in, not noticing he was missing before this whole disaster could've been prevented, but also for the fact that she knew she would have to venture out into the storm to save him. She gasped for air in her sobbing fit, trying to pull herself together. After a bit, she dragged herself over to the door, like a doll being towed behind a filly. Her hooves shook as she took hold of the knob and twisted.
A strong wind stung her face, as silvery pins of rain seized her body with pain. Her hair whipped behind her, like a pink flag waving about. "I'll be back soon," she told her worried friends, trying to tell herself that this statement was, indeed, true. "Stay inside. I really mean it."
With that, she stepped out into the open, closing the door behind her. Leaves, branches and mud puddles scattered the ground. "Angel!" Fluttershy was yelling at the top of her lungs, but her voice barely broke a whisper through the rage of the storm. Fluttershy trembled with pain as another gust of wind blasted small twigs and leaves against her body. Shielding her eyes with her hoof, she scanned the ground for the soft, white bunny. He was nowhere insight, but Fluttershy hadn't expected him to be out in the open. She began searching around rocks and bushes.
By this time, Fluttershy was soaking wet. Her hair stuck to her face, and she could barely see, but she refused to give up her search. Then she spotted a small rosebush she hadn't checked yet. Peeling away leaves and branches, she found Angel. A small pool of blood lay around him. The wind had beaten the pore creature with the thorn covered branches that surrounded him. He was shivering in the cold, and fought for every breath. Fluttershy carefully picked him up and tenderly cradled him in her arms.
"I'm so sorry! I'm so, so sorry!" She wept before the small bunny. She had caused him so much pain. "We have to get you inside. You're going to be okay." She wasn't sure if she was trying to convince the limp animal in her arms, or herself. Angel's eyes weakly fluttered open before the animal's strenght was completely drained and his soft lids closed over them. Fluttershy wondered how long it would take him to wake up once again, and began cantering towards her cottage.
Just then, another bolt of lightning cut through the sky. She was surprised to see the bunny's eyes fly open instinctively in terror. Oblivious to what was going on, Angel sprung out of Fluttershy's arms and ran as fast as he could, mud kicking up behind him as he fled.
"Angel, no!"
Before Fluttershy could stop her weakened pet, he was out of sight. She knew she must follow him, but to where?
Fear struck her as she realized that Angel was heading towards the Everfree Forest.
Fluttershy knew that she had to go after Angel, no matter how scared she was. With each step she fought to stay balanced, fighting against the wind. Her own hoof became an indistinguishable blur just inches from her face. She needed to hurry, but one wrong step could cause a lot of damage. Fluttershy was given two options. She could continue cautiously and risk losing her beloved bunny, our quicken her pace and risk her own health. It was an easy decision.
Fluttershy started to canter as fast as she could, but she didn't get far.
Stumbling over a large tree root, she toppled uncontrollably down a rocky hill. Blood oozed out of the deep cuts on her back, and her wrist joint had obtained a large gash. Fluttershy cried out in agony as another gust of wind worked its way into her injuries. She became dizzy from pain and blood loss, but managed to spot a large leaf, tying it tightly around her wrist. She used some grass to tie another to her back.
"I'm c-coming . . . Angel."
She struggled to her feet, and continued her trek through the storm.
After she finally arrived at the Everfree Forest, she paused under the shelter of the trees to properly clean out her wounds using a large puddle that had formed towards the edge of the tree line. Every once in awhile, she glanced towards the forest, hearing the rustle of leaves, but every time she looked, nothing appeared to be there. Once she finished cleaning herself up to the best of her ability, she started looking for her lost friend. Fluttershy would be able to call for Angel from inside of the forest (the forest was so thick that barley any rain or wind broke through the dense foliage), but she knew that that would be a horrible idea to follow through with. The last thing Fluttershy wanted to do in there would be to draw attention to herself, so instead she scanned her surroundings for any sign of the creature. She finally spotted small footprints, just visible in the dim conditions. Fluttershy tiphoofed over to the hollow stump that the tracks lead to.
"Angel, are you there?" Sure enough, Angel lay at the bottom of the tree stump. "Oh, thank goodness. Let's get you home . . . Angel?"
Turning the bunny over, she found a huge gash in his chest. She noticed now that her friend was no longer breathing.
"No. No, this can't be happening," whispered Fluttershy. "Don't leave me Angel, no! Angel can you hear me? Angel!" Fluttershy was now screaming, unable to contain her emotions. She picked up the bunny and sobbed into its fur. "You don't deserve this! Wake up, wake up!" But alas, Angel was dead, his cold, lifeless body lying in her arms. "I . . . I can't just leave you here. I'll b-bring you back to the c-cottage. I promise."
But the forest's fiercest hunters had been informed of Fluttershy's presence. She had made the mistake of mourning Angel aloud. As they approached, Fluttershy caught a whiff of the noxious stench of the most universally feared creatures in all of Equestria . . . Timber Wolves. Their glowing, yellow eyes illuminated the trees and bushes that they were stalking her from with an eerie light. Two stepped out from the shadows, growling. Panicked, Fluttershy shut her eyes tight and ran in the other direction, only to run into another. This Timber Wolf was noticeably bigger than the others, most likely the leader of the small but still deadly pack. One of his rough, wooden, claws was stained a dark red. Small tufts of white fur stuck to the blood. This was the being that had killed Angel, most likely mistaking him for a larger meal to be toyed with. As she was paralyzed with fear, the leader easily tackled Fluttershy, pinning her against a jagged rock. A howl of pain echoed throughout the forest as the rock dug deep into her skin. Angel rolled out of her arms and onto the ground.
The Timber Wolf's warm breath brushed Fluttershy's cheek as the others came over to help. With a sharp pain, one bit hard into her arm. Blood poured out of the cut as Fluttershy once again cried out in pain. Another tore open her leg with dagger like claws. Dizzy, Fluttershy's head fell to the side. The leader opened its jaws wide, ready to give a fatal bit to her neck, satisfied with its torture.
Fluttershy saw the fuzzy outline of her dead bunny. She had made a promise to bring him home. She wasn't about to break it.
Using her free leg, she kicked the second Timber Wolf's foreleg clean off. With her arm now free, she hit another in the head. The wolf fell apart into a pile of knobby twigs and branches. Lastly, she took out the lead Timer Wolf, who was distracted by its prey's sudden burst of anger and energy. Knowing they would soon put themselves back together again, Fluttershy took her deceased pet and flew out of the forest, her limbs in no condition to function. The rain was still pouring down. Her wings became heavy with rain, but she was too injured to stand. Using her last ounce of strength, she flew to her cottage, pounded on the door, and quickly grew unconscious. She hugged Angel ever tighter before blacking out.
She opened her eyes to find her friends nervously whispering to each other.
"Where . . . where am I?"
"Oh, darling you awake," exclaimed Rarity, relived.
"Your at the Hospital, sugarcube," stated Applejack.
"After you called Pinkie Pie and I, we knew you were scared, so after the storm, we came by your house to check on you," Twilight explained.
"Your animal friends carried you inside and took care of you until we arrived," Pinkie Pie said.
"Twilight told me about your situation, and I zipped you over to the hospital," concluded Rainbow Dash.
"Oh, thank you everypony," Fluttershy said, grateful, but there was a hint of sorrow in her voice. "I just wish I could've saved Angel the way you all saved me." Fluttershy's eyes filled with tears.
"You tried your best," Applejack said, sitting down on Fluttershy's hospital bed, "And that's what counts." Fluttershy simply attempted to turn onto her side, only to find her body seize with pain. Bandages covered her form, and she was receiving blood from a small tube attached to her arm.
"Just relax," offered Twilight. "You'll make it worse."
"Where's Angel?"
Rarity glanced around to see if the others might answer. No one did. "Um . . . back at the cottage, dear. We though you might like to hold a small funeral for him before his burial."
"Oh . . . thanks."
Fluttershy's friends looked at each other.
"We'll give you your space," said Rainbow Dash. Her friends headed towards the door, though Twilight lingered behind.
"This wasn't your fault."
"Twilight, no matter how many times I say that to myself, I still can't believe it."
