Fluttershy was relieved that she managed to escape from Tartarus. Now outside, she looked around - and all she saw was darkness, fire, some destroyed trees...

"Oh my... What happened here?", Fluttershy thought. She has been locked up in Tartarus for a few weeks now, but never knew what happened in Equestria during that time. She only heard rumbling and saw explosions outside, and now seeing everything come together fills her with fear.

"I have to find my friends! They know what to do with this situation!", Fluttershy said. She then galloped towards her hometown, Ponyville...

Fluttershy soon reached Ponyville and was met with a horrible sight.

The town was basically just mere ruins. Buildings were destroyed, some burning, and the once peaceful little town was deserted.

In fact, the only building that looked intact was Twilight's castle.

Fluttershy's eyes gleamed with hope. "Twilight must know how to deal with the situation. I have to get to the castle!", she said.

But as soon as Fluttershy started to head towards the castle, she ran into problems.

Ponyville wasn't as deserted as she first thought.

Around the corner came some scary-looking black pony-like creatures with holes in their hooves and eyes and wings like a bug.

Fluttershy knew these things. Changelings, and not just any changelings. Those are the minions of Chrysalis, the changeling queen that once held her and her friends captive in her hive. While she and her friends could escape with Thorax's help, they did have to help Starlight Glimmer to get through Chrysalis to save Twilight.

But that memory was the least of her worries right now. When the changelings screamed, Fluttershy made a dash for it. She flew as fast and agile as she possibly could, looking for a place to hide.

A few moments later, she managed to reach her cottage. However, the door appears to be locked.

"Wh-What? Why is the door not budging?", Fluttershy thought in panic. She then remembered that she barricaded the door when she left for Tartarus. However, this meant that there was an open window she could use to enter her cottage.

And lucky for her, there was an open window. Fluttershy jumped inside, shut it closed and pulled the curtains together.

"Okay... I have to get to Twilight's castle, but if the changelings get me, I won't be able to help my friends anymore...", Fluttershy said, filled with fear.

But now that she was home, she decided to relax a little. Everything was still the way she left it. Her furniture was still in place, the easel was still in place, and so was her picture with the big red splat that Angel made.

"I wish I could have finished this picture...", Fluttershy thought. As she was going to do that, she noticed a strange stench in her nose. "Jeez, what is that smell that's--"

She cut herself off and gasped when she saw the source of the stench. Just a mere leg length away from her was her pet bunny Angel, who was already rotting apart. And right next to him was that knife she used to kill him.

Fluttershy picked up the knife carefully and observed it. The once fresh red blood took a dry brown color, the same color that Angel's blood had now.

"Oh, Angel... I'm so sorry... I wish I could undo all this...", Fluttershy said to the rotting body.

She then flew to the kitchen and cleaned the knife before going back and hiding it in the secret compartment of her drawer again. She then put on some latex hoof gloves, picked up Angel's body and threw it in the trash along with the gloves. "I hope I'll see you again someday...", Fluttershy said before she shut the trash can closed.

Now that this was taken care of, Fluttershy continued to worry for her friends. They must be in Twilight's castle. But how could she possibly get there when there were changelings that could lurk around every corner of the town?

It was going to be tough, but she simply had to find a way.

Fluttershy removed the barricade from her door, stepped outside and considered her possibilities, when all of a sudden a changeling landed right next to her, which startled her.

The changeling then changed his appearance and looked just like Fluttershy now apart from the eyes which still had a bright green.

"Oh no... What do I do now?", Fluttershy thought, shying away from the changeling that looked just like her.

"Well, well, well...", said the changeling, "I never thought we'd actually see you again. Our queen and her friends were wondering where you were."

"What?", Fluttershy wondered. She couldn't understand what she heard. The queen and her friends wondering where she was?

"Let's just say, we had a very easy time taking care of those friends of yours. They never stood a chance.", the changeling said, "And now, you'll join them too!"

Fluttershy was really scared. Was this changeling really going to kill her? The changeling changed back to its normal form and yelled at her.

Fluttershy could only try and hope somepony heard her. "HELP! SOMEPONY HELP ME!!!", she screamed.

Just as the changeling was going to attack, a pegasus mare appeared and smacked the changeling away from Fluttershy. It then backed away and flew off.

"Yeah! Go tell your friends! You don't attack helpless ponies!", she said.

Fluttershy recognized that voice. It was Spitfire, the Captain of the Wonderbolts.

"Spitfire! Is that you?", asked Fluttershy, happy to see one of Rainbow Dash's acquaintances.

Spitfire looked at Fluttershy. "Fluttershy! Yes, it's me.", Spitfire said, "What are you doing out here? The whole city has been evacuated!"

"Evacuated?" Fluttershy was shocked to hear that word. "Is it because...?"

Spitfire nodded. "Yes. Cozy Glow, Chrysalis and Tirek took over Equestria. They have taken control of basically everything, from Canterlot to the Crystal Empire.", she explained, "We have evacuated Ponyville to keep the remaining residents that haven't been killed or captured yet safe."

With light gleams of hope, Fluttershy asked: "And my friends? Where are they?"

Her gleams of hope immediately faded when Spitfire sank her head. "I'm sorry... Rainbow Dash..."

"What?" Fluttershy was eager to know what happened to her friends.

"Rainbow Dash...", Spitfire began, "I saw her and the rest of her friends take on the Evil Trio. They tried to use the Elements of Harmony... But..."

Fluttershy knew what was coming. "But they couldn't, because I wasn't there...", she said.

"Mhm...", Spitfire said, "And what happened next was a big charge of dark magic, a devastating laser firing at the five ponies. And when the smoke was gone, all I saw was... dead bodies."

"D-d-dead!?" Fluttershy couldn't believe what she heard. "My friends are dead?", she asked.

"I'm afraid so.", Spitfire said, "And when the Evil Trio went away, me and some of the other Wonderbolts took their bodies and buried them deep in the Everfree Forest. And..."

Fluttershy couldn't listen any longer to what Spitfire was saying. Her eyes filled with tears at these terrible news. The loss of her Sweet Feather Sanctuary was already deep in her heart, but losing her friends was far too much. She started to cry her heart out again.

"NOOOO!!! It... It can't be true! My friends can't be dead! They're heroes, Guardians of Harmony, saviors of the world...!", Fluttershy cried. She couldn't bear to think about a life without her five dearest friends.

Spitfire tried to comfort her. "Hey, Fluttershy. Don't cry.", she said, "I understand your pain. Sure, Rainbow Dash was one of our finest, without a doubt. But you, Rainbow, and the others... You have a deep history together. But I'm afraid that I can't do anything to bring them back. I do want you to know though that they were just as much my friends as they were yours."

Fluttershy softened her crying a bit and looked up to Spitfire. "Th-thank you... Thank you for saying so...", she said.

Then, Spitfire had an idea. "You know... There's this zebra in the Everfree Forest. Zecora, was it? Maybe she can find a way to bring your friends back.", she suggested.

"I doubt it.", Fluttershy said, "Even if there was a way to bring back my friends, there is no way that we can beat Cozy Glow, Chrysalis and Tirek once my friends are revived. And what exacty is Zecora--" The moment Fluttershy said that name, rage built up in her heart. "Zecora..."

Spitfire noticed that angry look on Fluttershy's face. "Erm, Fluttershy? Are you okay?", she asked.

"I gotta go. I hope I'll see you again someday.", Fluttershy said and stormed off towards the Everfree Forest.

Determined to have a serious word with that traitorous zebra, Fluttershy continued to storm through the Everfree Forest. She wasn't even afraid of anything that could jump at her at any moment. This was all about the truth. She had one goal in mind, and that was Zecora's hut.

Soon, she spotted the infamous Poison Joke flowers that once turned her voice into that of a grown stallion. Zecora's hut was close by. And eventually, she spotted the obvious tree house.

"You have a lot to answer for, Zecora...", Fluttershy said, her blood boiling in her veins. She then stormed towards the door.

Inside, Zecora was already packing up all her things, when Fluttershy slammed the door open.

"YOU!", she yelled as she bursted into Zecora's hut.

Zecora was slightly startled, but then calmed down when she saw the pegasus. "Fluttershy, it's good to see you in the house of mine, but what brings you here at this dark of a time?", she asked.

Fluttershy wasn't screwing around. "Quit your rhyming! How could you do this to me?", she said very angrily.

"I don't really have a clue, what exactly did I do to you?", Zecora asked.

Fluttershy snapped. "Thanks to YOUR potion that made me and Angel swap bodies, my Sweet Feather Sanctuary has been closed because Angel couldn't handle the tasks that I could take care of no problem, and it sent me into a deep depression, which led me into killing Angel and being locked up in Tartarus, and because I couldn't be with my friends in the fight against the Evil Trio, the world has ended, everyone is gone, AND MY FRIENDS ARE DEAD!!!"

When Fluttershy was finished, Zecora gasped. She couldn't believe either what she heard from the normally shy and cute yellow pegasus.

Fluttershy pushed on though. "Now what do you have to say for yourself? I said, what do you have to say for yourself?", she asked impatiently.

Zecora sank her head. "I'm sorry, Fluttershy...", she said.

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. A simple sorry was clearly not enough for her.

Then, Zecora did something unbelieveable.

"I'm sorry, Fluttershy!", she started to explain, "You have to understand, I did not intend for this to happen! These potions that you and your bunny took, they had you two swap bodies so you can spend a day in each other's body! The entire purpose was to show Angel how hard your work at the sanctuary is, and it was supposed to show you how it is when nopony but you can understand Angel! I never intended your Sweet Feather Sanctuary to close and you falling into a deep depression! Something must have gone horribly wrong!"

Fluttershy didn't even notice that Zecora broke out of her usual rhyming. "Yeah, EVERYTHING went horribly wrong!", she scolded, "The entire place turned into the chaos that I could have easily avoided! And Dr. Fauna closed down the sanctuary because of that! Do you understand how much that sanctuary meant to me? I fought long and hard on my own for this, it was my long-life dream, and YOU CRUSHED IT!!! And also, why did you want to show me how it is when nopony but me can understand Angel? I can talk to all kinds of animals! I even befriended some of them in Tartarus, for Celestia's sake!"

Suddenly, Zecora broke into tears and dropped to the floor. "I know...!!! I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!!!", she sobbed, "I already told you, I did not intend for this to happen! It was just to have you spend a day in each other's body, but I had no idea how horrible and how easily the plan could backfire!!!"

Seeing Zecora crying her heart out, Fluttershy's rage faded. "It doesn't work that way.", she then said, "Just saying sorry and crying your heart out won't reverse time. It won't bring my sanctuary back, it won't bring Angel back, and worst of all, it won't bring my friends back. It's good to see that you realize that you made a big mistake, but I wish you realized it before my Sweet Feather Sanctuary was closed..."

Zecora stopped crying and looked up to the pegasus.

"I'm still angry, sad and depressed, I can't deny it. But I can't bear to see one of my friends cry.", Fluttershy said.

Zecora got up onto her hooves again, wiped the remaining tears out of her eyes. "You know, I can't blame you.", she said, "I know how much that sanctuary meant to you, and I also know how much Angel and your friends meant to you. I was just trying to help, but instead, I made everything worse... Can you ever forgive me?"

Despite feeling a bit of sympathy for the zebra, Fluttershy remained firm. "I'm afraid not.", she said, "You destroyed my long-life dream, and I just cannot forgive such an act."

Zecora looked down again. "I understand, Fluttershy.", she said, "It was your dream, and in an attempt to help, I crushed it. I'm such a terrible zebra..."

"You're not terrible. You just made mistakes. And even if they have severe consequences, mistakes cannot be reversed.", Fluttershy said.

"I know, and I'm still very sorry for what happened to you. I really didn't mean for that to happen, I swear.", Zecora said.

"I know, I know.", Fluttershy said, "But before I go, can I ask you something?"

"Anything.", said Zecora.

"Spitfire told me that you can bring dead ponies back to life... right?", Fluttershy asked.

"I'm no necromancer, unfortunately. And even if it was possible, your friends would merely be zombies.", Zecora answered.

"Oh... okay.", said Fluttershy, "Can you at least tell me where my friends are buried? I assume you helped Spitfire to bury their bodies..."

"Sure, Fluttershy. It's the least I can do since this is probably the last time we'll see each other.", Zecora said.

Author's Note

Well, at least Fluttershy now knows the intention behind Zecora's attempted help.

But Spitfire wasn't lying about Fluttershy's friends. You'll see why in the next chapter.