Fluttershy left Zecora's home after bidding her farewell. The zebra told her that her friends were buried deeper in the Everfree Forest. While she was thankful for the help to find the grave site, Fluttershy still didn't forgive Zecora for what she has done to help her and Angel.

Regardless, Fluttershy went on her way. Now that she had a word with Zecora, she now became aware of the possible things happening in the forest. Anything could jump at her any minute, and by that right, she became scared.

However, she shook her head. "Come on, Fluttershy.", she said to herself, "You've been in this forest a lot of times and you always survived. Be brave for a moment now..."

The moment lasted for longer than she expected. She bravely carried on through the forest, not worrying about anything. And soon, she arrived at the spot that Zecora mentioned.

Five tombstones were placed in a row. From left to right, it was Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity and Twilight Sparkle.

As her glance went over the tombstones, Fluttershy's eyes filled with tears. Spitfire wasn't lying - her friends were actually killed in the final battle against the Evil Trio.

"No... This can't be... That's the worst time of my life...", Fluttershy said as she started to cry, "My sanctuary is gone, I killed Angel, and now my friends are dead... I just can't continue living like this..."

Fluttershy cried like she never cried before. Fate was absolutely not playing nice with the yellow pegasus. First her sanctuary, then her pet bunny, now her friends. Everything has been taken away from her in the span of a few weeks. And to make matters worse, she couldn't see herself continuing to live with these conditions...

Before she jumped to any rash decisions, Fluttershy stopped crying. If she would die too, then none of the Guardians of Harmony would be alive anymore, and this would mean that Equestria would forever be ruled by Evil...

"N-no... I can't give up... There's gotta be hope!", Fluttershy said, determined to find a way to save Equestria from the forces of Evil.

The only question that remained was, how was she going to save Equestria all alone? Fluttershy was so small and cute, and Cozy Glow, Chrysalis and Tirek were big and mighty. Twilight never mentioned an artifact that powered up a single pony, and unfortunately, since she was alone, she couldn't use the Elements of Harmony. And not even the acquaintances of her friends could help her, as they have little to no knowledge about the Evil Trio, and they wouldn't be able to use the elements anyway.

There was nothing Fluttershy could do, and this made her sad. "I just can't defeat them alone... There's no way that I can take these three on without you...", she said to the tombstones, "I just wish I could do you girls one last favor."

Then, the Elements of Harmony came back to her mind.

"I'm sure my friends want their elements back.", Fluttershy thought, "It's the least I can do before I leave my friends alone for good..."

There was just one more problem. Where were the elements? She hasn't seen them again ever since she and her friends retrieved the elements from the Tree of Harmony before it was destroyed, and knowing that her friends tried to use the elements, there was no way that they were still in Twilight's castle.

However, there was still hope...

What if Spike survived the attack and secured the elements? It was a nigh impossible chance, but she had to take it.

But there was another problem... If Ponyville is crawling with changelings, how was she going to get to the castle safely?

"I can't do it alone... I need a little help..." Fluttershy was desperate. No plan that she thought of was a safe plan. She knew that she needed help, but without her friends and with Zecora out of the question, who would help her to retrieve the Elements of Harmony?

Suddenly, someone came to her mind.

"Spitfire!", Fluttershy said, "She helped Rainbow Dash before... So why wouldn't she help a friend of hers?"

With hope in her heart again, Fluttershy made her way back to Ponyville to find the pony that could help her to save the world...

Author's Note

What do you think? Did Spike survive, or is he dead too?

Keep reading to find out.