Fluttershy awoke in her bed, she could see the sun shining through the windows as she pushed the covers off of her. "Good morning Angel" she called out. She looked out the window and could see the sun rising over the hills in the distance, its light spreading over the land. She walked down the stairs to her kitchen and started making a bowl of daisy petals for breakfast, she finished and sat down at her table to start eating and noticed something strange. She hadn't seen Angel yet, in fact, she hadn't seen any of her animal friends yet and she couldn't hear any birds singing outside either. She abandoned her breakfast and went from room to room in her small hut. Looking for any sign of her animal friends. Nothing, Angel's bed looked like it had been slept in but now it was empty and cold.
Fluttershy opened the front door and went outside hoping to see at least some birds in the sky. The sun gave the outdoors a warm friendly feeling but that was overshadowed by a sense of dread. Fluttershy couldn't even find any insects around her house, she ran to her chicken coop and found it just as empty as her house has been. She felt a wave of panic sweep over her, she wanted to hide but she didn't know what she would be hiding from and she was becoming more and more worried about her animal friends. Applejack, she would know what to do and with that thought Fluttershy galloped toward Sweet Apple Acres.
The short trek to Sweet Apple Acres only served to unnerve Fluttershy more. There was still no sign of any animals and the only noise she could hear was the sound of her hoofs pounding against the ground. She reached the outskirts of Applejack's farm, the apple trees stood with their red fruit hanging on the branches as she ran along the fence till she reached the gate, she looked around and could see no sign of anypony. She gently pushed the gate open and walked to the house, knocking on the door with her hoof. After a few minutes with no reply she knocked again, harder this time and tried to call out but her voice was just a squeak. She shook her head and called out again. "Umm.. Applejack, are you home?" After a few more minutes with no response she pushed open the door and stepped into the Apple household. "H.. Hello? Is anyone home.... Applejack?... Applebloom?" She walked to the kitchen, it looked spotless, like no one had used it today, the usual scent of some sort of apple dish being cooked was completely absent. "Granny Smith?" Fluttershy walked up the staircase, her heart beating faster. "Big Mac?" She was becoming very worried now, she pushed open the door to Applejacks room, the bed looked like somepony had been in it but it was empty now. She called out again "Applejack... are you here? ... Please be here" no reply. Maybe they were in the barn or out bucking apples, yes, they must be doing that, she would just go look for them.
Fluttershy ran out of the house and after a few tries, managed to overcome her panic and spread her wings to take flight, quickly flying to the barn, she knocked at the door while she pushed it open. The barn was as empty as the house was, no cows, no pigs, no Applejack. The orchard, she must be there. She took to the sky again, looking for any sign of the Apple family. After about an hour she had found nothing, just row after row of apple trees, apples still hanging on their branches, she was about to give up before something caught her eye. Something silver by one of the trees. She flew down and landed next to the tree. There was a bucket under it, it was full of apples. She looked around but couldn't see any others, just this one. Her wings snapped shut against her. This lone bucket of fruit managed to scare her more than her friends empty house. She spun around, almost tripping over her hoofs as she looked everywhere for some reason why this bucket was alone here or who had left it. She stopped and listened, all she could hear was her heart beating and now she noticed there wasn't even the usual noise of the leave rustling in the wind, she was the only thing making any noise at all. She decided she really did not want to be here anymore and took off in a gallop for Ponyville. She hoped to Celestia that her friends would be there waiting for her, or at least somepony would be.
Fluttershy raced along the road, fully expecting to get to Ponyville and find Pinkie Pie having thrown some elaborate surprise party for her with all her pony and animal friends, except she didn't really, she just really really hoped that is what she would find. When she arrived at the outskirts of Ponyville she saw it looked as empty as her hut had been and Sweet Apple Acres was. She slowed as she entered the town. She decided to check Twilight's library and Rarities boutique on her way to Sugarcube corner, if there was some kind of surprise party that is where Pinkie would have it. The hair on her heckles rose as she walked though the deserted streets, she was getting very frightened. she tried to convince herself of the surprise party awaiting her but even in her own mind it sounded like an empty promise.
Twilights library seemed to tower over her, on any other day it would seem warm and inviting with the sun shining but today it seemed menacing to Fluttershy. She didn't bother knocking before she pushed the door open and quickly scanned the room. There were a few piles of books but it looked as if spike had cleaned it within the last day. "S... Spike? Twilight? Ar... are you home?" She called out, the same silence she had encountered at Applejacks house was the only reply. She closed the door and ran to Carousel Boutique.
Fluttershy gently knocked on the door to Rarity's boutique as she pushed it open with her hoof. She looked around the room and her heart lept. Another pony! She ran into the room before her heart sank again, it was just her reflection in one of Rarity's mirrors. She felt a tear slide down her cheek as she called out to her friend "Rarity... RARITY! Please..." more tears streamed down her cheeks as she left the boutique. Sugarcube corner, they must be there, they MUST. She wiped her eyes and exited the boutique. She tried to spread her wings but they remained locked against her body, she wished she could fly, normally she preferred the ground but with her animal and pony friends gone, it made her uncomfortable.
Sugarcube corner looked closed. The only time Fluttershy had seen it so deserted looking was when no one was there... or before one of Pinkie's surprise parties, she tried to convince herself there would be a big party waiting for her inside but at the same time she was afraid of getting her hopes up only for them to be dashed by another empty building. She gulped as she slowly pushed the door open and carefully walked inside, half expecting, half hoping for the pink pony to jump out at her. Sugarcube corner looked even more deserted inside than it had outside, no sign of Pinkie or Mr or Ms Cakes and no sugary treats were on display. The usualy happy store was as deserted as every other house she had checked. More tears welled up in her eyes and she was about to leave when she noticed something, she sniffed the air, she could smell something. She tried to wipe her tears away as she followed the scent into the kitchen. On the table she found a single cupcake, it was yellow cake with pink frosting done in a way that reminded her of her tail, the freshly baked smell of the cupcake made her stomach growl. She now remembered that she had left her breakfast sitting on her table at home. Had Pinkie left this for her? She looked around but could only see an empty kitchen, she picked up the cupcake and it felt warm in her hoof. This was fresh! She would search the house, this cupcake felt like it was just out of the oven, there had to be some pony here.
Fluttershy set the cupcake back on the table and rushed up the stairs to the second story while she callout out to her friends. "Pinkie, Ms Cakes, Mr Cakes?" the hallway was empty, maybe somepony was in their room "Pinkie?" she called out as she pushed open the door to Pinkie's room. The room was empty, her heart sank again, the cupcake was fresh, there had to be some pony here, the rest of the rooms were empty also. She walked back down stairs and sat at the table, staring at the cupcake, it was still nice and warm, her stomach grumbled again but she resisted the urge to eat it, what if somepony was waiting for it. But... she was the only pony here, did Pinkie somehow leave it for her. Her stomach growled again, the frosting on the cupcake certainly looked like her tail, that couldn't have been a mistake, if Pinkie took anything seriously it was cupcakes. She picked up the cupcake again, it was still warm. She took a nibble of the side, the sugary deliciousness slid over her tongue and she couldn't help but take a big bite. Pinkie HAD made this, it was Fluttershy's favorite flavor. Only Pinkie knew about it, not many other ponies liked banana cake. Tears once again streamed down her cheeks as she worried about never seeing her friends again and being stuck forever in this empty land. She finished the delicious cupcake and laid down on the flood in the kitchen. She wrapped herself in her tail trying to stave off the waves of panic flowing though her. She lifted her head and looked around the kitchen. She was sure some pony had to be here, the cupcake was fresh and it was made specifically for her, she hoped. Maybe she had missed something when she was looking for her other friends, maybe they had left things for her also. She stood up and walked out of Sugercube Corner.
Fluttershy could see Rainbow Dash's cloud home floating up in the sky, she tried to spread her wings but they remained tightly clamped to her sides. She sighed and walked to Rarity's boutique. If her friends were looking out for her then she was sure Rarity would have left her something to help. She pushed open the door to Carousel Boutique and walked in. Nothing had changed in the room from when she was last here and she couldn't see anything that stood out like the cupcake had. She slowly started to walk up the stairs to Rarity's work room. She pushed open the door and immediately noticed a yellow scarf wrapped around one of the manikins necks. She walked over to the manikin and examined the scarf, it had pink trim and was embroidered with butterflies, just like the ones on her cutie mark. She reached her hoof out and touched the silky fabric. It felt warm, like it had been worn all day. She lifted it off the manikin and wrapped it around her neck. It felt so warm and safe, like Rarity was giving her a warm hug. She rubbed her muzzle against the soft fabric. She didn't know what happened to everypony, she didn't know why she was alone but she KNEW that her friends were somewhere and they were looking out for her. She looked around Rarity's work room but didn't see anything else that looked like it was meant for her so she turn and left the room, returning to the first floor. She stopped briefly to admire the scarf in the mirror, Rarity had done a fantastic job with such a simple seeming item, it matched her perfectly, she smiled for the first time since she woke up this morning, then stepped out of the boutique to see what her other friends had left for her.
Fluttershy looked up at Rainbow Dash's house floating in the distance, she tested her wings and was able to spread them open, she gave the warm scarf another nuzzle before she lifted herself off the ground. She thought about going to Twilight's library first but something inside her told her to check on her friend's house. By this point she no longer really expected anyone to be there but she still hoped Dash would be there. She nuzzled the warm scarf again as she flew up to Rainbows house. "Thank you Rarity, thank you so much" she whispered to the scarf, it almost felt like it got warmer around her as she said it. She wondered if it as just her imagination or something more as she came up to Rainbows fluffy porch.
Fluttershy pushed open the door and called out to her friend "Rainbow Dash? Are you here?" by this point she really didn't expect a reply but she felt it was rude to just barge in. She looked around the bottom floor of Dash's four story cloud house, almost more of a tower really. Fluttershy had never been inside before and was surprised by how empty it was. In the first floor there was a closet that only seemed to hold the dress Rarity made Dash for the Grand Galloping Gala and her Shadowbolts costume, a statue next to it with the crown from the best young flyer competition, a poster on the wall of the Wonder Bolts, and underneath that a single sofa that looked like Dash was using it for a bed. Fluttershy didn't see anything that really looked like it was intended for her so she walked up the stairs. The second floor was completely empty, she knew that Rainbow didn't like to be held back by anything but given the size of her home, Fluttershy expected it to have more in it. She kept moving up the stairs. The third floor was as empty as the second, just a circular room with a few windows looking out. Something about Rainbow Dash's big empty house made Fluttershy's heart sink, it seemed like Rainbow owned almost nothing. Like she only had what she could carry or replace if she decided to leave. The thought of her oldest friend suddenly leaving town made tears well up in her eyes. It was one of those worries she had in the back of her mind, one of the kind that despite how remote the chances were of it actually happening, was still there. She pulled the scarf tighter around her neck and shook off feeling that rested at the bottom of her gut, when she found all her friends she could ask Rainbow about this. She kept walking up the stairs until she met a trap door that led to the top floor, she pushed it open and peeked around. The only difference between this room and the last two she had been in was the gently sloping ceiling and the lonely trunk that occupied the center of the room. She carefully walked over to the trunk, she had reservations about opening it. She really didn't like the idea of opening a truck of her friends private positions, in fact the only reason she even considered it was because of the drawing of a butterfly on the lid. It was a crude drawing of one but still recognizable as one that matched her cutie mark. She finally gave in and unlocked the latch and pushed open the lid. The first thing that caught her eye was a yellow and pink saddlebag, the rest of the trunk had a few picture frames in it but the saddlebags were sitting on top of it. She decided it was best to not intrude on Rainbow's personal belongings anymore than she had, she carefully lifted the saddlebag out of the trunk, it felt empty. She shut the lid to the trunk but not before she saw what was in the picture frame laying on top of the pile. It was a picture of her and Rainbow as fillies at Summer Flight Camp. She couldn't help but smile, she kept that picture in her room, it was good to know that Rainbow Dash kept a copy of the picture also. She put the saddlebags on her back and trotted down the stairs and left Rainbow Dash's house.
Once she got outside, Fluttershy took off the saddlebags, they felt empty but she still wanted to check. They were smaller than most of the bags she saw most ponies with, probably because as much as she tried, she was still a rather weak flyer. One of the bags was empty but inside the other there was a key, a very strange key. It was grey, actually calling it a key might have been wrong, it was more of a grey mass that just happened to be in key form. She left it in the bag and set the saddlebags back on her. She looked up and scanned the horizon, Ponyville was just a little ways off and she could see Twilight's library tree. That seemed like a good place to go before she went back to Applejack's orchard. She spread her wings and took a few experimental flaps before she gently lifted herself off the cloud and glided to the library.
Fluttershy landed a little ways away from the library, she walked up to the door and pushed it open but she couldn't stop herself from calling out when she entered "Hello..?" the silence of the library swallowed up her words and she once again stepped inside. The library looked just as it had before when she was searching for Twilight. She walked around the table in the middle of the room, examining the shelves and book stands for anything that caught her eye. So far everything appeared normal so she crept upstairs. Fluttershy looked around once she reached the top of the stairs, everything looked normal, well normal after spike had cleaned up some. Books filled the cubbies along the walls, most were upright but a few were haphazardly stacked on each other, there didn't appear to be anything specifically for her so she took the side stairs up to the enclave that acted as Twilight's bed room. Right on Twilight's pillow was a scroll, yellow paper with a pink ribbon wrapped around it, but instead of the usual horseshoe seal on it, it had an imprint of a butterfly. She slipped the bow off the scroll and on rolled it. She was disappointed to find it empty, suddenly a feeling of loneliness welled up inside her. She was just a small pony in a big empty world, all alone, she might never see her pony or animal friends again. The feeling of despair from the thought of being absolutely alone. To other ponies it seemed like Fluttershy was mostly alone but she always had some kind of animal friend around. This was the first time she felt truly alone since she had gotten her cutiemark. She curled up against Twilight's bed and stared at the blank scroll, shivering lightly as a wave of panic threatened to overwhelm her.
