Touched By An Angel
The cold afternoon rained hard as melancholic gusts of wind blew through the town, into the streets and into the faces of everypony who found themselves unlucky enough to meet this gloomy day. Yet all of these depressing elements could not compare to what a buttery yellow pegasus had been feeling for the past few days. Her mane, what used to be beautifully coloured and well kempt; now a ragged shadow of its past self. Her once silky smooth coat had been neglected and had lost its shine. Even her icy cyan eyes became bloodshot and had been forcibly drained of any tears as she looked at the ground being stabbed by her spade.
Kerchink... Kerchink...
The cacophonous sounds of the spade slowly penetrating the ground became rhythmic to the pegasus. She did not know how long she had been digging, nor did she care. She had been expecting His passing, but it wasn’t supposed to be this soon. As she stopped and took a glance at a small black box to her right, a small tear slowly formed in her eye, only for it to be lost as it merged together with the water that had dripped down her face from the cold, hard rain around her.
Kerchink... Kerchink...
She wondered why this had struck her so hard, even though she had been through so many funerals for her animal friends. Then again, He had always been a special little bunny. Perhaps a bit wily, but He had always remained loyal to her and had always been there for her.
Kerchink... Kerchink...
She remembered the times they had spent together, creating a bittersweet feeling inside her as she walked down memory lane. As sweet as those memories were, she could not help but feel as though her heart was about to give up. She remembered the days when He was there to protect her, the days when she was at her weakest. He taught her to be assertive and strong, yet kind and gentle at the same time. But now that her most treasured friend is gone, how would she continue without her friend guiding her?
Kerchink... Kerchink...
Amongst the sounds of metal removing the earth, slow hoofsteps could be heard from afar. She knew who those hoofsteps belonged to, but buried the notion deep inside her, and proceeded to ignore the sounds. She prayed that whoever it was, they were simply a travelling pony on their way to Ponyville for supplies, or perhaps a trader looking for a place to sell their wares.
Kerchink... Kerchink...
The steps drew nearer and nearer with every passing second. Suddenly, they stopped, and she sensed the presence of the pony right behind her. As if time had stopped just for them, an eerie pause enveloped their surroundings, as naught but the soft pitter patter of the rain and moving earth could be heard.
“Why are you here again?” the yellow pony asked, her voice completely devoid of emotion as she continued to dig. “Stop coming here already.”
An orange pony stepped closer to her, and took off her stetson and placed it on her chest. “I’ve come to pay mah respects, sugarcube.” she said softly, her southern drawl sounding awkward as she used a formal tone. “Ah know you’ve already told us to leave you alone, but you know ah can’t do that.”
“I’m fine. I just need to bury Him and it’ll all be over.”
“No, you’re not fine.” she denied. “Look at yourself for once, girl; your voice is so rough, you could finely file down a plank with it! Heck, I bet you haven’t even eaten yet since this happened! You need help, sugarcube.”
“I’m not crying anymore.” she turned to face her friend, a forced smile formed on her face as she desperately tried to hide her pain from her. “See, I’ve already moved on.”
“Now, Fluttershy. You know as well as Ah do that it ain’t easy like that!”
The earth pony carefully took another step, trying her hardest to convince her precious friend. “You need a shoulder to cry on, sugarcube. You don’t need to bottle it all up.” she said. “You don’t need to lie to me. Ah know how it feels like to lose somepony you love dearly.”
The pegasus simply stood there, her forelegs firmly affixed to the spade. Tears slid down her face as she looked at her friend. The cowpony turned her head away, fearing she may have said too much.
Fluttershy’s face turned livid, and twisted in fury. “How would you know?!” she cried. “Your grandmother isn’t even dead yet! How would you know the pain I have right now?!”
Tears dripped down on the earth pony’s face, despite smiling sweetly at her friend. “Where’d you think mah Ma and Pa are right now?”
Out of all emotions that had fought to get out, she had not expected anger to be the victor. The yellow pony looked away in shame and guilt. They’ve been friends for years and she hadn’t even bothered to know what had happened to her family? What would He think if he saw her now?
“I’m... I’m sorry, Applejack.” she sobbed. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
She dropped to the ground, covering her face as she mentally broke down. Sobs and screams drowned the sounds of the rain. Applejack could only lay beside her.
“It’s alright.” she said to her friend, her smile unwavering as she stroked her friend’s mane to comfort her. “You’re not alone in this, sugarcube.”
She looked in the direction of the woods. Pairs of eyes glowed amidst the darkness of the trees. Forest creatures, big and small, slowly came out, their heads hung low. Birds flew out into the open sky, and circled in the vicinity.
“You never were.”
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