Fluttershy was a nervous person on her better days, always slightly paranoid, always slightly guarded. She never truly relaxed in the company of another person, at least not a living one anyway.

Oh, right. She could see ghosts, and talk to animals. People knew the latter, obviously, it wasn't much of a secret. But the former? The former no-one knew. And if she'd had her way, that's how it would have stayed.

Then Anon-A-Miss happened.

The first day, Fluttershy really hadn't believed it could've been Sunset Shimmer. But after the second, the third, and the 'evidence' kept mounting? Fluttershy was a nervous person on her better days, so when her friends started blaming Sunset, pushing her away? She did the same. She regretted it, now. They all did. Especially the Cutie Mark Crusaders - as they'd called themselves.

Those three were hated now, and had landed varying degrees of young offenders sentences. In all honesty, if things hadn't gone as far as they had, they might have ended up with a slap on the wrist, nothing more. But things had gone as far as they had, and Fluttershy could see the proof. See the day, and even now, her friend.

And Fluttershy hated herself for it.

She'd loved Sunset, she really, truthfully, had. She'd just never had the confidence to say it. Maybe it would have saved her, she didn't know. But she could still see that day, that moment.

"Ah just can't believe that Sunset would do somethin like that. Ah really thought she'd changed."

"We all did, Applejack. She fooled all of us."

Rainbow Dash kicked the floor.

"I should've seen it coming."

"Rainbow, darling, you trusted her just as much as the rest of us. None of us could've seen this coming."

Pinkie Pie's usually bright, bouncy pink was deflated and dull as she nodded along in agreement, and Fluttershy could only sink lower in her seat, feeling the guilt churning in her stomach. It wasn't Sunset Shimmer - she was almost certain. But she didn't, couldn't say anything.

A movement at the edge of her vision caught her eye, and she looked up sharply, feeling surprised as she locked eyes with Sunset, and for a moment the familiar butterflies fluttered throughout her before she quashed them.

"S- Sunset? What are you doing here?"

The others all looked at her in surprise.

"Darling, are you quite alright? Sunset isn't here."

"But she is! She's -"

Fluttershy felt the shock course through her, and Sunset winced momentarily before a harsh look came back across her face. Fluttershy's own voice dropped to a whisper.

"No... no, you didn't? Please, please tell me you didn't."

Sunset wouldn't meet her eyes.

"Fluttershy, are you okay?"

"Rain- Rainbow. She- she's-"

"Hey, hey, take your time, what's-"

"She's DEAD, Rainbow!"

"What?"

"I- I can see ghosts, and she's there- she's right-"

Sunset's cyan eyes finally raised once more, meeting her own.

"How?"

For a moment Sunset made no move, then slowly held up a wrist. An angry red cut lay across it, no longer bleeding in death, but the mark there to remind forever. The other wrist held much of the same story. Fluttershy felt the tears in her eyes, but Sunset wasn't finished, now shivering as she mimed taking pills. So many pills.

That was the day her friends had learned Fluttershy could see, could communicate with the dead. Sunset's body had been lying in her bathtub, a note that Fluttershy had since not been able to read on her desk.

It hadn't taken long for the CMCs confession after that, and for the school to find out.

No one was the same again, after that, but it didn't matter.

Fluttershy still saw Sunset, but whenever she tried to speak with her, the girl of flame would simply cry and turn away.

She could talk to ghosts, of course.

But she couldn't make them feel better.

Author's Note

[Note Copied From Archive]

okay so like
this is short, this is bad, but that's mostly because I didn't have much time today. HOWEVER
I am unironically in love with this idea like actually
I might have to turn this into it's own set of things because like
yeah
actually in love with it wth
anyway uhm
sad fic, sorry not sorry,
working on ICMIAA, of course
LOVE YOU ALL GOODNIGHTTTTTTTT

I'm gonna be thinking about this all night aren't I