A Tomb of Cotton.

Angel hopped happily across a large open field, he could feel the grass against his fluffy fur and the soft breeze on his long ears, the little bunny felt extremely happy, that feeling of freedom made his heart pound and his mind fly free, he took another leap forward and suddenly something pulled him back violently.

He felt as if something was closing around his neck, suffocating him, he panicked and shook violently trying to get away from the pull, placing his paws on his neck trying to release the invisible knot that little by little was stealing his air, he tried to scream for help but from his mouth only a choked animal screech came out and, before he knew it the pull began to drag him backwards.
He could feel his back tearing and bleeding from the friction with the ground, he desperately tried to cling to the grass to stop the pull but suddenly all the green around him seemed to disappear, being replaced by nothing but dry dirt and sharp rocks, as he tried to hold on the small nails of his paws came off, causing him horrible pain and making his blood loss more prominent.

Angel felt he was about to lose consciousness, his vision was getting more and more blurred, when finally, the pulling seemed to stop, he looked up and thought he saw a figure standing over him, he couldn't recognize it, his eyes, now covered with tears, reduced even more his already impaired vision, he could no longer breathe no matter how hard he tried to fill his lungs and his struggling gradually weakened until it became intermittent spasms.
The figure bent down towards him, bringing her face close to his and just as Angle let out his last breath before fading into the darkness the features of Fluttershy's disappointed face appeared in front of him.
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Angel almost jumped out of bed in terror, gasping and coughing violently trying to catch his breath, the awakening was so abrupt that some vomit shot out of his mouth and stained the fur on his chin and neck.
The pain in his head and the pressure in his chest were unbearable, in panic Angel groped with his hoof in search of the pincushion he had placed on the bedside table, taking three needles and sticking them hard into his flank, the pain immediately calmed the discomfort he felt and he was finally able to pull himself together, being able to control his breathing and collapsing back into the mattress and sheets.

Still panting and sweating profusely he covered his face with his other hoof, wiping the tears that had formed on his face, this was already a whole week of nights full of nightmares, Angel felt frustrated, no matter how much he tried to relax, meditate or take medicine to sleep well simply nothing had worked, he simply woke up terrified in the middle of the night without being able to sleep again.
He lay there with his face covered for a long while until he was finally able to breathe normally again, then he finally dared to remove his hoof and open his eyes, deep inside he wished that when he saw himself his old body would be there, white, small and adorable, but the disappointment came almost as fast as the thought.

He could see the dirty, yellowish fur of his pegasus body, in conjunction with some of the long pink mane that blocked his view, Angel violently pushed the loose strands away, he really hated that mane, in doing so he could see that his two front hooves were full of bruises from all the needles he had been sticking himself with after discovering that they helped with his head and chest pain, The marks were unpleasant to look at, blackened by dried blood and marking some of the swollen veins and giving them an unhealthy appearance, his hind legs didn't look much different except that, in this case, most of the bruising was concentrated on the upper limbs and on his flanks.
The cutie mark of three butterflies was bruised, deformed by the amount of wounds in the process of healing and all the dried blood stains on the fur, Angel didn't mind this, after all seeing that mark carved on his body only made him feel more miserable.

The room was in complete disarray, there were scraps of food strewn all over the floor, as well as clothes piled in piles and the furniture drawers with the contents of them strewn everywhere, the mirror on the wall was completely smashed, the shards of bloodstained glass sparkled with the faint glow of the stars coming through the windows which were also broken, everything gave off an unpleasant smell between urine, vomit and dried blood, a smell that would have made any creature with a functional nose recoil but for Angel that had stopped mattering several days ago.

He just stared at the ceiling, period in his thoughts, every now and then the pain in his head or chest would throb harder, at this he would just take the needles again and stick them in the same paw, over and over again for hours.

Finally, when he had just completely risen above the horizon the sound of his gut growling for food broke his cycle of unwanted and self-inflicted pain, these last few days hunger and the urge to defecate was the only thing that got Angel out of bed, dragging his hooves and down the stairs, across the living room to the kitchen.
The rest of the cabin was in no better shape than the main room, all the furniture was in disarray and almost every item had found a new home on the floor, also any and all mirrors or reflective surfaces had been destroyed leaving the room full of broken glass and twisted metal.

Angel had to fly to dodge the avalanche of stuff, he had been practicing how to do it and, although he still had trouble keeping his balance, at least now he didn't have to touch the ground.
He went into the kitchen, which was completely ransacked, searching through the cupboards for anything he could put in his mouth, he looked up and down, from one side to the other, but even the jar of the horrible butter cookies was completely empty.

He let out a cry of irritation, he had finally run out of food and that could only mean one thing, he had to get out of the house.
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He didn't even try to look presentable, he went out just as he had woken up, the only things he did have with him were Fluttershy's old saddlebags and a handful of needles under his wing, he had tied his tail and mane so tightly and in such tight buns that it even hurt him, but he certainly preferred that to having to trip over the excessively cumbersome amount of hair once again.

The day was sunny and very beautiful, the birds were singing happily and all the ponies were doing their day with a smile, Angel couldn't be more irritated, he could understand perfectly the songs of the birds, their corny tune made his eye twitch, by the time he reached the village, the pain had already made him stick the needles several times, he made sure to press hard the wing on the open wounds to prevent the blood from dripping.

Without much consideration he walked in the direction of the town market, his stomach growled non-stop which caused him even more headache, he could notice as he walked how his presence attracted a few glances, the ponies that saw him passing by were extremely worried when they saw his appearance and felt the smell emanating from the pegasus' body, some even thought to approach to ask if everything was okay but when they noticed the unpleasantly hostile expression on his face they simply looked away and continued with their day.

Finally he arrived at his destination, the stalls of fruits, flowers and various items were spread along the main street, the place was crowded, with many ponies attending to their mid-morning shopping, before the image Angel had to take a moment to relax.

“Alright, just get in, buy carrots, and get out” he said to himself as he let out a sigh and walked into the avalanche of ponies.

Luckily for him, due to the hustle and bustle of most, his presence seemed to be completely unnoticed, every now and then he would hear a pony ask if anyone else could sense the bad smell but, in the face of this Angel would just walk away quickly before they could identify him.
He finally arrived at the stall where Fluttershy used to buy him the best carrots, attended by a yellow mare whose name Angel couldn't remember, there was a huge line in front of his stall, at least thirty ponies waiting patiently for their turn.

Angel couldn't help but let out a snort at this, the last thing she wanted now was to have to stand still in one place, but, before even considering the option of looking for another less crowded stall Carrot Top noticed the presence of her pegasus friend.

“Oh Fluttershy! How nice to see you!” the mare exclaimed happily, giving him an effusive hoof wave.

Angel for a moment thought about ignoring her, mostly because her calling him by that name had given him a twinge of headache, but upon further analysis of the situation he realized that it might be too conspicuous not to reciprocate the greeting.
Forcing a smile and walking cautiously towards her he finally answered her.

“Hello .... .how...how are you...?”

Carrot Top then noticed the deplorable state Fluttershy was in, she didn't want to be rude but she really looked awful, as if she hadn't been groomed in days, she quickly noticed the bruises on her paws and flanks.

“Oh my Celestia! Fluttershy are you okay!!!”

Angel's eye twitched again at the mention of the name, still he restrained his urge to yell at the mare, responding as best he could.

“What? oh this...?” Angel lifted one of his bruised hooves “It's nothing serious, it's just...well...” he hadn't really thought of a plausible excuse or explanation for his injuries “My cabin got swarmed by...mosquitoes...!” he finally exclaimed “Yes! Huge mosquitoes...”

“Oh, I see and umm...you feel okay? You look a bit, sick...”

“Oh I'm perfectly fine, I just came for some carrots...”

Hearing the reason why Carrot Top couldn't help but feel uncomfortable, she knew that very recently her friend had lost her pet Angel after a tragic accident at her sanctuary, she suddenly felt somewhat embarrassed for having greeted her so effusively, Fluttershy must still be very sad, for sure that was the reason for her disheveled appearance, and her acting in retrospect was very insensitive.

“Oh I, I'm sorry Fluttershy, I haven't presented you with my condolences for the death of your bunny...”

Angel felt anger building up in his stomach once again, this mare wouldn't even deign to remember his fucking name calling him “bunny”, he put all his strength to keep from exploding and kept the forced smile on his face.

“Oh don't worry, just, if it's no bother, I'd like the carrots...”

“Oh yeah sure, just let me pack them for you...” at which point the elderly pony who was all the way to the front of the line noisily cleared his throat.

“Ahem! excuse me, but I was being served before that smelly pony arrived” the old man's tone was annoyed and he was clearly irritated.

Carrot Top then turned and apologized nervously.

“Oh I'm so sorry sir, I'll be with you in a second...” the mare turned to Fluttershy ”I'm so sorry Fluttershy, just let me finish tending to him and I'll give you your carrots.”

Angel didn't say anything, he just stood there gritting his teeth as the mare heads to the other side of the stall and started helping the pony, he thought it was no big deal, that in a minute he'd have what he came for and be on his way, but then he could see how the old man pulled out a huge shopping list and started dictating it ridiculously slow.
His stomach growled violently again, this was ridiculous, that damn old man was doing it on purpose, he just wanted some damn carrots, was that too much to ask for?.

It was at that moment that Angel noticed that, just on the other side of the baradel stall he was in, was the basket of carrots, he thought about it for a second, maybe it was a bad idea, but in the end he said to himself.

“I'm going to buy them anyway.”
So he took a carrot and devoured it in just two bites, then took another which just as well disappeared as quickly as the first, and then another, and another, and another.
By the time Carrot top finally finished tending to the old man he noticed, with an incredulous look, that Fluttershy had devoured more than half of the entire basket of carrots.

“Fluttershy! What are you doing!”

Angel answered her disinterestedly, still with a mouthful of carrots.

“I was hungry, and I told you I wanted carrots...”

“But...but you didn't even pay me for them!”

“Just because I ate them doesn't mean I don't plan to pay you, I just decided to get a little ahead of the impending transaction” Angel let out a shrill belch, smearing Carrot Top's face with bits of carrot.

The mare couldn't believe this, Fluttershy's attitude was extremely unpleasant, she could understand that to some extent but, there was no need to be so indecent, angrily and wiping the dirt from her face Carrot Top exclaimed.

“Well..in that case, I'd like you to pay me for all the carrots you've already eaten and leave, right now!”

“Fine...have it your way...” said Angel irritably as he dug a hoof into the saddlebag trying to find money, but there was nothing.

Puzzled he intensified the movement inside the bag but met with the same result, it was empty Did he forget to take money before leaving the hut.

“Well Fluttershy? I'm waiting” said Carrot Top visibly angry.

Angel didn't know what to do, now he had put himself in a complicated situation, although, after all what did it matter? it was only a few coins and he could pay for them another time, it wasn't as if he had missed something important.

“I seem to have forgotten the money in my cabin, you'll have to excuse me but I can't pay you now, but don't worry, when I come back for more carrots I'm sure I won't forget...” At that moment Angel started walking away from the stall.

Carrot Top couldn't believe what was happening, Fluttershy was trying to steal from her face and the worst thing is that she didn't seem the least bit sorry for what she did, quickly the mare came out of her stall and stood in front of the pegasus who looked at her confused.

“Wait a second! How dare you do this to me Fluttershy!!! I thought we were friends...”

“We were?” asked Angel sincerely confused, he didn't remember this mare and Fluttershy sharing much time together.

Carrot Top let out a gasp, she couldn't believe her friend was being so selfish and rude, she had no right, now even more angry and red in the face the mare yelled.

“Well I did consider you my friend! But if we really aren't then you'll have no problem paying now everything you owe me!”

The shouting began to attract the attention of the surrounding ponies who were approaching curiously, noticing this Angel realized that the situation was quickly getting out of control, he had to do something to get out of this.

“Well, I would gladly do it but...” he stammered nervously ”As I told you I don't have the money...”

“Well, in that case, it seems to me that we're going to have to resign with the relevant authorities Fluttershy, because this thing you're doing right now is, in essence, theft!”

Angel was now worried, he couldn't go to the local guard, things didn't end well if he did he was sure, he started to quickly think of a way to escape from this, he looked around him, at the crowd of ponies that now surrounded him, there was no way out, he could try to fly but that wouldn't guarantee his escape and even if he managed to do that, these ponies knew where he lived, they would come looking for him.
Just as Carrot Top was about to demand his money again a flash of blue landed right in front of her, Rainbow Dash extended her hoof in which was a small bag of coins and offered it to the mare.

“I'll pay for it” exclaimed the pegasus determined.

Carrot Top then with a frown took the bag and pulled out the coins, counting them warily.

“There's still money missing...” he said with a serious look on his face.

Rainbow Dash let out a sigh and took out a few more coins, handing them over as well, once the payment was complete Carrot Top gave Rainbow a look of disgust.

“You can tell Fluttershy that as of today she is forbidden to come near my store and it will remain that way until she offers me a proper apology” offended the mare walked back to her stall, entering and returning to attend to her customers.

“Fluttershy what were you thinking...?” Rainbow started to say as she turned to see her friend, surprised not to find her there, she looked in all directions trying to find her until she finally caught up with her, she saw her walking away almost at the exit of the market, the pegasus then took off from the ground at high speed heading towards her friend.

Angel sighed in relief, he had narrowly escaped, he was grateful for the intervention of the blue pegasus and slipped away as soon as he saw an opportunity, now he just had to go back to the cabin and this horrible day will be quickly forgotten, but at that moment he heard a voice right behind him.

“Fluttershy! Wait!”

Angel pretends not to hear and just hurried the step but quickly Rainbow Dash stood in front of him, blocking his way.

“Fluttershy what's wrong? What happened back there?” Rainbow was worried seeing her friend's state, she really looked really bad.

“Uh no..it was nothing, just a little misunderstanding with the price of carrots...” she answered quickly avoiding looking her in the eyes and dodging the to keep moving forward, but her attempt was immediately stopped when the pegasus moved in front of her again.

“And are you okay?” Rainbow was trying to search Fluttershy's gaze but Fluttershy was just staring at the ground.

“Yes, of course I'm fine why wouldn't I be?” she replied now already somewhat annoyed.

“Well it's just that you look...I'll be honest, you look really bad, have you been sleeping well? and what's staining your fur...?” Rainbow Dash tried to touch her friend with one of her hooves but she quickly pulled away.

“No! It's nothing, it's just...I've been kind of sad these days” Angel struggled to keep calm, she just had to get rid of it and she could finally get home.

“But are you sure you're feeling okay, because if you're sick we could go see Twilight or Zecora...”

The mention of the zebra's name elicited contempt from Angel, after all she was the one most to blame for the horrible situation she was in, she quickly responded without thinking under her breath.

“Don't mention that bitch...”

“What did you say?” asked Rainbow intrigued.

“Nothing! Nothing, I didn't say anything... “Angel paused as she tried to get going again but Rainbow Dash didn't move ”Listen...Rainbow, I'm actually feeling kind of tired and I just want to go home, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me in...”

“Oh, sure, of course...” Rainbow turned away and Fluttershy resumed her walk briskly, walking away little by little while the pegasus just watched her, now she was really worried, her friend looked erratic and distant, she didn't know that the death of her bunny could affect her to that extent, she thought about what would be the best plan of action to help her, she couldn't think of anything very elaborate, she thought she could discuss it with Twilight later but just now, at least she could think of something that she thought would cheer Fluttershy up a little.

Angel was walking at a hurried pace, he could almost see the exit of the village leading to his cabin now, this had been a horribly stressful day but deep down he was proud that, for the first time, he hadn't lost control, he thought it was a good sign that he was finally getting used to his new life, maybe, in the long run, he could finally establish a proper routine, act more like Fluttershy and finally stop feeling so physically bad.
His thoughts were interrupted when Rainbow Dash's voice came again, he turned to see the blue pegasus walking beside him calmly.

“What are you doing here again?” she asked sharply.

Rainbow ignored the irritated tone in her friend's voice and responded by smiling at her.

“Well, I thought I'd walk you home, so you don't have to walk all the way by yourself.”

Angel felt ridiculously angry at the stupid grin the pegasus had on her face, he didn't understand why she suddenly wanted to be near him, after all, not once, did Rainbow Dash deign to visit the cabin in the whole week he had been locked up.
Still she didn't want to throw away her victory of today, so she simply grunted and kept walking, with the blue pegasus following just a couple of steps behind her.

All along the way Rainbow Dash tried to strike up a conversation with Fluttershy, but no matter how many topics she brought up, the yellow pegasus just didn't seem to feel like talking.

“Hey and how are things going at the shelter?”

“No one from there has come to bother me so I guess it's okay?”

“Oh I see...and how have your other animals been...?”

“I don't know, none of them have wanted to come back.”

“Ah...and have you knitted anything new recently?”

“No, I don't know how to knit”

In the end Rainbow just fell silent, walking in silence until they finally reached Fluttershy's cottage, Angel stopped just far enough away so that the blue pegasus wouldn't notice the broken windows or the furniture thrown into the garden, clearing her throat exaggeratedly and speaking in a fake friendly tone.

“Well...we're already here, you've already accompanied me, to my house, which is here...”

Rainbow took the unsubtle hint and scratched the back of her neck before replying.

“Sure...hey, are you sure you don't want me to stay for a while, we could do something together...”

“Something like what?” asked Angel trying to maintain a smile.

“I don't know, we could bake some shortbread cookies together, I know they're your favorite...”

Angel couldn't help but grimace at the thought of those disgusting cookies, noticing this Rainbow quickly thought of something else.

“Or, we could go swimming in the river, like when we were foals...”

Angel then thought he finally understood the reason for this, the reason for the inordinate kindness of the blue pegasus today, to him it was no secret the particular tastes Rainbow Dash had, in fact, by this point, the whole town had heard at least one story concerning the pegasus' Sapphic adventures, and her reputation as a heartthrob, but Angel also knew that, at some point in the past, Rainbow Dash had been in love with Fluttershy How did he know? Fluttershy had told him, told him about the time Rainbow had declared her feelings to him and how she had rejected her because she didn't feel the same way.
He came to the conclusion that all this was a dirty trick, a dirty and ill-intentioned ruse on Rainbow Dash's part to take advantage of what she believed was her friend, devastated and vulnerable by the death of her bunny.

“Oh I'm sure you'd like that wouldn't you..?!”

The sudden change in Fluttershy's attitude took Rainbow by surprise.

“What...what are you talking about..?” she started to say, but was interrupted.

“That's what you want isn't it? For the two of us to be alone, wet and together in a private place so you can take advantage of me?!!!”

“No Fluttershy...of course not...” replied Rainbow extremely confused ”I'm just trying to cheer you up...why are you being like this?”

“Oh right...the big Rainbow Dash, the lesbian who goes around from vagina to vagina doesn't want to take advantage of her childhood friend who she was in love with since they were foals...!”

Rainbow then blushed profusely, she didn't understand why this attack towards her person, she just wanted to help and Fluttershy was attacking her with her own private feelings she had shared with her, finally she replied annoyed.

“Hey! That's not true! Why the hell are you bringing that up now!!!?”

“Because, I can't believe you're so disgusting, after all the horrible things that happened you come here like it's nothing and try to do your crap!!!”

“I just wanted to cheer you up because you were sad about the death of your rabbit!”

“And what the fuck do you know about how I feel?!!!!!”

Rainbow was surprised, never in her life had she ever heard Fluttershy scream this loud, it was so powerful she could almost hear her friend's throat tearing from the effort.

“You have no fucking idea how I feel!!! Don't you want to come here and tell me what you think is best for me, only I know what's best for me!!!”

At that moment out of anger Angel opened his wings and the needles fell to the ground right in front of Rainbow, who was startled to notice how each and every one of them were almost completely stained with blood.

“Fluttershy... what is that..?”

“WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT MATTER TO YOU?!!!! YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S BETTER FOR ME RIGHT NOW, YOU FILTHY TOMBOY WHORE, GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY FUCKING HOUSE!!!”

Rainbow Dash, for the first time in her life, felt intimidated from her friend Fluttershy, the kindest and shyest pegasus she had ever met in her life, the beautiful mare she had fallen in love with and whom she had learned to love more like a little sister, now he could not recognize her, she looked like an animal full of rage and hate that uncontrollably vociferated a caterwaul of insults and personal attacks, finally, tears began to flow from the pegasus' eyes, tears that she tried unsuccessfully to hide, speaking with a broken voice.

“I...I'm sorry Fluttershy, I didn't know you thought so badly of me...” and without further ado Rainbow took flight and flew away.

Angel then finally managed to calm down, panting as the anger faded he could feel once again the pain in his head and chest, this time even stronger, he quickly picked up the needles from the ground and, even though they were already covered with dirt, he stuck them in again without thinking, feeling the immediate relief.
He let out a sigh as he finally managed to relax completely and turned around in the direction of the hut, as he walked once again the guilt was present. Had he misunderstood Rainbow's intentions, maybe he wanted to cheer him up after all? But, that didn't matter, he had told her that he wanted to go home and made it very clear that he didn't enjoy her company, besides he couldn't completely rule out the possibility that she might try to do something with him, after all you never know what to expect from promiscuous mares like her, this wasn't his fault.
As soon as he entered the cabin he felt exhaustion fall upon him, he threw the empty saddlebag to some random place in the room and heavily walked in the direction of the stairs, in a moment he stumbled and staggered to one side, suddenly feeling a terrible pain in one of his front hooves, he instinctively pulled away and fell face first to the floor, hitting his back against the leg of a piece of furniture which made him let out a high pitched scream, it took him a moment to recover before he finally noticed what had caused the initial pain.

By accident he had stepped on one of the sections of the floor littered with broken glass, some of these had dug deep into the base of his hoof, causing large cuts that bled profusely, for a moment Angel cursed himself for not cleaning even that section of the floor, but quickly came to his senses as he noticed that this new level of pain had alleviated the discomfort he was feeling much better, he let out a long sigh at being able to think clearly without the headache bothering him and breathe without the pressure in his chest irritating him, this gave him an idea, perhaps, if tonight he left the shards of glass where they were, the relief caused might finally allow him to fall asleep peacefully, this thought made him smile slightly, he really needed a good night's rest, perhaps then, finally, everything would feel better in the morning.
Walking on three legs carefully, Angel dodged the few remaining pieces of furniture and climbed the stairs with enthusiasm, at least this day would end on a positive note.
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Meanwhile Rainbow Dash was flying at full speed, trying to wipe away the tears that wouldn't stop flowing in the wind, no matter how much she thought about what had just happened she couldn't see any sense in it, why did Fluttershy act like that? She understood that maybe she was a little upset about Angel's death, but that didn't justify insulting her like that at all, she didn't know what to believe anymore, she felt angry, sad and devastated, but in a moment a fleeting thought crossed her mind.
It was true, Fluttershy would never do something like that, in normal circumstances, but this situation exceeded all the parameters of normality, Fluttershy had asked for a loved one very precious to her, a companion who had accompanied her for years, this must have been something so strong that the grief must be destroying her friend, maybe she had acted this way with her because she felt resentful because none of her friends went to visit her or comfort her during all this time, they all believed that the best thing would be to give her her space but what if they had been wrong? What if what they should have done was to be closer to Fluttershy and not farther away?
Rainbow Dash stopped in her tracks, yes, that had to be it, her friend felt terribly lonely in her grief and that was why she was acting so strange, she had to do something to change that, she had to help Fluttershy feel better, but, from what she had seen it would not be an easy task, she would certainly need help, a lot of help.