A Tomb of Cotton.

Angel could not sleep much, the discomfort he felt only allowed him to lose consciousness at times, by the time the sun began to peek over the horizon and its light entered through the windows of the cabin Angel had had what, according to him, had been the worst night of his life.

Even though the headache was almost gone along with the ringing in his ears he still felt the pressure on his chest, he didn't even try to get up, he just lay there on the couch for hours.
It was the sound of light knocking on the cabin door that finally forced him to raise his head, his eyes were heavy and the sunlight hurt him, for a moment he thought about ignoring the knocking and waiting for whoever it was to simply leave, but the knocking only continued in short intervals, they were soft knocks, so much so that, had the cabin not been in complete silence, Angel was sure he wouldn't even have been able to hear them.

Reluctantly he finally got to his feet, shuffling his hooves in the direction of the front door, passing once more in front of the large mirror.
Angel looked at his reflection again and found that Fluttershy's body looked haggard, her mane and tail were messy and somewhat dirty with carrot remnants, as well as her fur, her eyes were sunken and with huge dark circles under them which gave her a terrible look.
Despite this all Angel could think about was how uncomfortable the long hair over his shoulders and the tail trailing behind him felt.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Fluttershy's parents were worried, yesterday they had received the news that their daughter had suffered a terrible loss with the death of her bunny and, according to what they had been told, she was not well.

They had decided to leave immediately to visit her, traveling all night to get to Ponyville early, now both old pegasus were very tired, but they decided to ignore that fact in order to focus on giving comfort to their daughter, after all, they knew how sensitive and empathic she was, they couldn't let her go through this alone.

Receiving no response again after knocking on the door, Mr. Shy cleared his throat and spoke in a low tone as he knocked again.

“Fluttershy, sweetie, it's your mother and I, we came to see you, could you please open up for us...”

At that moment the door was rudely ajar, something that slightly startled both pegasus.

“Yes? what do you want?” said Angel abruptly, it took him a moment to realize that they were indeed Fluttershy's parents.

Suddenly nervousness took over him, after all they were the pegasus' family, surely they must know her very well, it was more likely that they deduced that something was wrong, at that idea Angel's mind was filled again with doubts and fear, what was he supposed to do now? he couldn't just throw them out, it would be too suspicious, so what to do?

Both parents exchanged worried glances, Fluttershy looked very disheveled, dirty and had tied her hair in a rough bun on her head, also her look seemed absent and somewhat strange.

“Hey Fluttershy love are you all right?” asked Mrs. Shy with a worried tone in her voice.

Angel finally reacted, he wasn't to look suspicious, he had to find a way to subtly get rid of them....

“Ehhh...yes, yes mother, I'm fine” Angel forced a smile smudged with carrot remnants.

“Ehhh well honey...” began Mr. Shy ”We, we knew what happened to your bunny Angel and well...”

“We wanted to come see you honey, just to see if you needed anything” Mrs. Shy completed the sentence.

Angel gritted his teeth, of course that's what they came for, suddenly his life seemed to have become very important to all the ponies in Equestria, hypocrites, this was a simple cheesy formality, one that Fluttershy would have put up with feigning sympathy or maybe even genuinely appreciating it, but to him it was all a bad joke and more so considering his current situation, slowly he could start to feel the anger building up in his stomach.

“Honey, do you think...we can come in to...join you for a while?” asked Mr. Shy.

The comment snapped Angel out of her reverie, her jaw relaxed and she refocused on the yellow pegasus' progenitors.

“Oh ehh ehh I...” he started to say, still undecided on how to proceed ”I don't know, you know...I'm still very...sad yes, very sad and I really don't feel like seeing anyone.”

Both parents cringed at their daughter's obvious discomfort, for a moment they thought about withdrawing and giving her her space, but if Fluttershy had taught them anything it was to be more assertive when the situation called for it, and just now they were sure that their daughter needed a shoulder to cry and vent on, so, finally, it was Mrs. Shy who came up with a way to insist in a polite but firm way.

“At least let us join you for breakfast honey, if you want to be alone after that your father and I will understand.”

“Yes, your mother and I just want to make sure you are okay” continued Mr. Shy.

Angel didn't know what to do, he thought about being more aggressive with his stance of staying alone but that could put him in an even more complicated situation, that far outweighs anything that could go wrong if he would just let the pegasus stay for a while, finally and holding the anger inside he answered with resignation.

“Well, I guess they can stay...just for a while.”
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sitting in the living room, silence reigned, the atmosphere was tense and Fluttershy's parents could notice how the, normally noisy and full of life, cabin was empty.

“Ahem Fluttershy honey...” finally said Mr. Shy ”Where are all your animals?”

“They're all in the sanctuary” Angel replied dryly, the animals had been his main concern as they knew about the body swap and knew that Fluttershy had died, that was the reason why none of them wanted to stay in the hut, he was worried that they would tell on him but it quickly dawned on him that no pony besides Fluttershy had the ability to understand animals, so even if they try to say something, no one would be able to understand them.

“Oh and... how are things going with your sanctuary honey?” asked Mrs. Shy smiling nervously.

“Well there are animals and they take care of them there” another curt reply, Angel thought, if he could make them uncomfortable enough they would go away and leave him alone.

Silence fell again, the only thing that could be heard was the sound of the clock hanging on the wall.
Fluttershy's parents didn't quite know how to proceed, their daughter seemed completely reluctant to hold a conversation and her attitude had gone from strange to downright rude, again it was Mrs. Shy who thought of a way to try and cheer up her daughter.

“What do you say we make some tea and accompany it with nice cookies?” she exclaimed quietly.

“Oh, that's a wonderful idea...!” quickly reacted her husband supporting her in her plan ”Is that okay with you Fluttershy?”

Angel forced a smile while in his mind he could only curse, he didn't remember Fluttershy's parents being so resilient, that only made him irritate himself even more, but it wasn't only that, there was something in the way they talked to him that made him feel extremely uncomfortable, he still couldn't identify what but it certainly got worse every time they opened their mouths to refer to him.

“Sure...!” she replied still maintaining her smile ”Cookies and tea that sounds...great!”

At her daughter's affirmative Mrs. Shy wasted no time and dashed into the kitchen in a recovered mood followed closely by her husband and finally Angel who just stood at the entrance to the room, watching.
She watched as the mother of the pegasus skillfully using her wings, took the box of matches, taking one out and lighting it to subsequently light the small iron stove, while the father went through the drawers, finding a small pot, filling it with the water Fluttershy stored and placing it on the fire.

“Fluttershy honey...”

Once again the fur on the back of Angel's neck bristled at Mistress Shy's call, there it was again, that twinge that irritated her so much, even without knowing what exactly caused it, she couldn't help but get lost in her thoughts to find out.

“Do you still have those delicious shortbread cookies?”

The mare's tone had become casual in an attempt to reduce the tense atmosphere, she believed it might help her daughter get distracted and perhaps open up more to talk to them.
Receiving no response she turned to see Fluttershy who had her face fixed in the corner of the room and her gaze was trembling.

“Fluttershy...?” asked his mother as he approached her.

The resolution hit him like an out of control cart, there it was, the reason for his discomfort, he couldn't believe it had taken him so long to realize something so crucial, being called by Fluttershy's name, was what made him feel so bad.
Noticing the mare approaching him in his peripheral vision, Angel reacted by giving a small jump backwards, pulling away abruptly.

“Ah? yes! I, I don't know, I think there's a bottle in the pantry...” exclaimed Angel startling Mistress Shy before turning around and heading for the stairs ”Could you excuse me for a moment...I need to check something in my room...”

As Angel walked away up the stairs leaving both parents alone, they turned to look at each other worriedly.

“She doesn't look well love...” began Mrs. Shy ”I know we were told that the death of her rabbit had affected her but I've never seen her like this...”

“Give it time...” Replied Mr. Shy “That rabbit was his whole life, we can't expect him to make it up overnight.”

“Yeah...you may be right”

“The best thing we can do is to be with her and support her in whatever she needs, you'll see how in time she'll come back to herself” and with that, both ponies went back to their work of preparing breakfast.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Angel abruptly entered Fluttershy's room closing the door behind him and collapsing against it, in his head a conflict was starting to hammer, adding to the endless confusing and chaotic thoughts that already adorned his mind.

The ringing in his ears and his headache returned, all this while the pressure in his chest became a little more present, his breathing became irregular and sweat covered him little by little Why did it bother him so much? After all, that was the name by which the body he found himself occupying was known, that was what he now had to get used to being called, he had to make peace with that idea and fast.
His discomfort was significantly reduced at that, if he really wanted to impersonate Fluttershy he had to do his part, ignoring the pain in his head and chest he tried to get up to go back downstairs but his legs didn't seem to agree with his mind's decision, clumsily he tried to stand up and immediately stumbled, staggering across the room until he impacted face first against one of the wooden furniture, causing a loud clatter and alarming the pegasus on the floor below.

Quickly both parents ran upstairs, rushing down the hallway and bursting into the room.
Seeing their daughter lying on the floor their fear increased, quickly approaching and calling out worriedly.

“Fluttershy!!! Honey, are you all right!” Said Mrs. Shy.

“What happened to you, did you hurt yourself?!” asked Mr. Shy.

Angel only let out a moan of pain in response, the blow hadn't been too hard but it still stunned him, this combined with the unexplained weakness in his legs convinced him that it would be best to stay on the ground.
At this the concern of both pegasus increased even more, thinking that possibly their daughter was badly hurt, quickly Lord Shy lunged towards Angel, holding him between his hooves and turning towards him.

“Oh my Celestia!!!” he exclaimed as he noticed how his daughter's forehead was bleeding due to a cut just above her eye ‘Honey get a first aid kit, she's bleeding!’ he said to Mrs. Shy who quickly left the room back downstairs.

“Fluttershy! Honey don't go to sleep! Your mother and I will take you to the hospital...!” Receiving no answer Mr. Shy raised his voice and continued calling his daughter “Fluttershy! Fluttershy! Fluttershy please answer!”

“STOP CALLING ME THAT!!!”

Angel stood up abruptly, pushing Mr. Shy to the other side of the room just at the moment when Mrs. Shy was returning with Fluttershy's small first aid kit.

“Fluttershy what's wrong?” asked the stallion, still worried but also intimidated by his daughter's sudden outburst.

“WHAT'S WRONG!!! WHAT'S WRONG IS THAT I FINALLY UNDERSTAND WHY YOUR DAUGHTER TURNED OUT TO BE SO WEAK, WITH SUCH MEDIOCRE PARENTS LIKE YOU I'M NOT SURPRISED AT ALL!!!”

Both pegasus were left with their mouths open, it wasn't just Fluttershy's attitude itself, which was already shocking in itself, but rather the fact that every single one of her words seemed to be said from the deepest and most absolute contempt.
Never, in his entire life, not even in the last few years when his daughter became more assertive, had he been even minimally close to such a violent tone, both of them didn't know what to do or say so they just stood there, petrified right where they were while his daughter continued with her attack.

“AND I'LL TELL YOU SOMETHING, YOUR WEAKNESS IS EVEN MORE MISERABLE THAN YOUR DAUGHTER'S BECAUSE AT LEAST SHE WAS ABLE TO DO SOMETHING MEANINGFUL WITH HER LIFE, YOU COULDN'T EVEN FIX HER VERY SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH HER USELESS BROTHER AND FUCKING MOTHER I'D LIKE TO SAY I WISH YOU HAD DIED INSTEAD OF HER, BUT THAT'S A GREAT IRONY BECAUSE IF IT HAD BEEN LIKE THAT NO ONE WOULD HAVE EVEN NOTICED!!!”

Despite the strangeness in Fluttershy's way of speaking her parents seemed not to notice, they were too busy sobbing and crying profusely, they couldn't believe that their daughter, whom they had raised with so much affection and love was insulting and cursing them so horribly, it was as if she wasn't herself.
Both parents hugged each other and let themselves fall on the floor while crying uncontrollably, but they didn't even have a moment to process what had just happened since Angel continued, although with her voice at a lower volume due to her tiredness

“What's the matter, don't Mom and Dad have anything to say anymore!” To that last question was added a haughty and mocking tone, one that shrinks the hearts of both pegasus who couldn't answer “THEN GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE!!!” shouted Angel at the top of his lungs.

The parents couldn't take it anymore and ran out of Fluttershy's room, Angel could hear them running down the stairs and then out the door, leaving it open, he could feel how little by little the anger was leaving his thoughts, collapsing back on the floor panting from the effort.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Angel woke up several hours later in the same position in which he had fallen, he could feel a tingling in one of his hind legs as he tried to get up, his leg had fallen asleep because he had fallen on it when he passed out and now it hurt.

Barely managing to crawl onto the bed and lay on it looking up at the ceiling, her mind slowly began to fill with memories of what had happened.
He suddenly felt bad for yelling at Fluttershy's parents like that, after all they didn't deserve to be treated like that just because it didn't feel right, he had crossed a line and maybe he should ...No, it wasn't his fault.
It was theirs, after all he wanted to be alone, he had told them he wasn't feeling well, they should have listened to him and not forced him to let them in, and on top of that they came in only to treat him as if nothing had happened, as if it was just an ordinary day How dare they do that when a horrible tragedy had just happened? they were insensitive.

Thinking about it calmed Angel down, he had done the right thing, it was about time someone told those ponies their truths, he had just been a little rude in communicating with them.
Her thoughts were interrupted when a pang in her brain shook her up and down, her headache was back, as was the pressure in her chest, which hadn't even gone away in the first place, Angel brought one of her hooves to her face to stroke her temple, in an attempt to reduce the stabbing pain, when she felt the dried blood on her face.

He quickly got up from the bed and walked to the small round mirror of the room that hung on the wall, noticing again the discomfort when he saw his own reflection, even so he ignored it and inspected the wound, it had already crusted a while ago but still left the entire right side of his face stained with dried blood.

Angel admired the stain deeply and for a long time, trying to discern if what he had felt before had been real or just an impression caused by adrenaline.
Unsure of the answer and wanting to remove all doubt, he walked in the direction of the piece of furniture he had bumped into, opened the top drawer and found what he was looking for, all of Fluttershy's knitting material was there, all her stamens, her little frames with beautiful embroidery and, what interested him most, her needles.

He quickly picked one up with his hoof and held it in front of his face, watching the edge closely and questioning whether it was really a good idea.
Finally, drawn by an almost childlike curiosity, Angel brought the needle close to his other hoof, held it steady and gave a quick, deep jab into his skin.

The pain was short-lived and intense, making him close his eyes for a second, when he opened them again he found what he expected, a small trickle of blood slowly trickling down as it stained his fur, he watched as it slowly reached his elbow and began to drip slowly to the floor of the room.

Angel didn't know why but now he was sure of what he had felt before, somehow both the freshly opened hole in his skin and the blood gushing from it had managed, if only for a single moment, to relieve both the pain in his head and the pressure in his chest.