Longing For Harmony

Fueled with motivation, Fluttershy wasted no time in making her way out of the cave, following the familiar beckoning sensation all the way back into the daylight. It was here that she returned to the cliff overseeing the waterfall, this entire area that had become so significant to her plight as of late. The pegasus briefly surveyed her surroundings from far above, noticing the cave, the waterfall, the lake, even the tree that she'd buried the Panacea Crystal next to. But these were none of the things she was looking for. Her next destination was off in another direction, closeby, but nowhere she'd actually visited yet.

Her wings steadily beat as she gently lowered herself back onto ground level, right next to the lake. Fluttershy tried to recall the pathways she had witnessed in her recent visions and dreams, cautiously navigating through the thick foliage and plethora of trees. Much had grown here since it was the way she last saw it, but a significant amount of change was to be expected when twelve hundred years had passed.

'I only hope that it's still here... It has to be... There's no place else this can work...'

After what felt like a half hour of combing through the thick forest and getting lost at least a dozen times, she found her goal at last. Fluttershy was astonished, and relieved, to find it was still standing. The same cabin that Auburn and Skylar built together and visited for their trysts. In spite of remaining intact, it had become adorned with many fallen leaves and vines, and the wood it was built from looked petrified with age. The pegasus was almost afraid that even touching it would cause the whole cabin to come crumbling down, but, she had to at least try.

After wrestling with hesitation for a long moment, Fluttershy gingerly laid her hoof on the doorknob and turned it, answered with a long creak as the cabin's inside was revealed to her. To her even further surprise, the house's interior seemed to never have aged at all. She assumed that the only reason it remained in such sturdy shape was due to magic, either from Vesper, Skylar, or both. The beckoning sensation strengthened as she set hoof inside, encouraging her suspicion. Once she closed the door behind her and explored further, Fluttershy was filled by a deep melancholy, both from her own emotional association with this place and from some sort of presence that lingered within it.

Everything she set her eyes on, she immediately recognized. The dining table where Skylar and Auburn ate their meals. The bed where they slept. Their trunk full of crafting supplies. Fluttershy felt her heart sank when she noticed a particular gathering of items in the corner of a room. It was everything that Skylar had packed to take with him when he was going to run away with Auburn.

'... He always left it here...'

By this time, Fluttershy checked over everything once more, as if waiting to find something. When she felt sure in her convictions, she started to speak.

"You can come out here, Vesper. Skylar isn't going to come in here. He doesn't want to look. It's too painful for him."

There was no answer. Nothing happened.

Fluttershy silently sighed to herself. "I promise I'm not upset with you. I just want to talk. I... I need you."

She waited as another long moment passed, until finally, violet smoke billowed into the room. It slowly formed into Vesper, who looked as somber and remorseful as ever.

"I'm sorry for everything that has happened, Fluttershy. You have every reason in the world to hate me. I've placed you, your friends, and everything you care about in danger. I was not able to do anything more for you than try to keep you out of Skylar's reach. I was foolish enough to think I could change from what I've always been -- to create happiness, instead of suffering -- but I've only been proven wrong, once again."

"But you are capable of creating happiness. You've done much good to help me, and improve my life. You lead me to the sands that enabled me to help all my friends in the first place. Don't you remember how you enthralled Pinkie Pie with your wonderful visions? Don't you remember how you made Rarity feel better by showing her that everypony did appreciate her after all? Don't you remember how you gave me the ability to feel exactly what others feel? You've protected me all this time, and guided me. I just couldn't see it before -- I'm sorry that I didn't. None of this would have been possible without you."

Vesper seemed unwilling to accept Fluttershy's compliments, although it was impossible for him to deny that what she said was true. "It's still not enough to fix everything."

Fluttershy slowly got closer to him. "But it doesn't have to be that way. No matter what Skylar says or does... You're still the best genie I've ever even heard of. Please, help me... I have one more wish to ask of you..."

Applejack opened the front door to Fluttershy's house. She was still trying to make sense of her recent visits from Fluttershy. First, the pegasus had seemingly stopped time with some pouch of sands when Applejack was just beginning a day of hard work. They had a long, emotional conversation that detailed her guilt and worries over Granny Smith and Apple Bloom, and made an arrangement for her to stay at her winged friend's house until everything cooled over. So when she not only returned, but stopped time again and asked to meet her at her cottage as soon as possible, the earth pony figured it was something very important.

As Applejack looked around for her friend, inspecting other parts of the house, she mulled over the reason for this sudden calling. She hoped that nothing bad happened to Fluttershy, and thought maybe it might have to do with her upcoming living arrangements. Once she trekked into the kitchen, Applejack exclaimed in surprise, finding that Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Twilight were there as well.

Applejack paused in bewilderment, then raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Alright, what's this here about? Y'all ain't tryin' to stage some kinda Apple Cider Intervention, are ya? I know I get a little hyper on the stuff, but it ain't no cause for concern!"

Pinkie bounced from her seat. "Actually, your guess is as good as mine, Applejack! One minute, Fluttershy and I were in Sugarcube Corner, journeying across the vast Candy Constellations, and the next, POOF! It was all gone! I have no idea why she told us all to meet her here, and now we're waiting for her!"

Rainbow Dash shook her head, forelegs crossed. "I don't know what any of you are talking about! Fluttershy's been spending the last week with me and Scootaloo, flying around and stuff! It was... Weird... But, undeniably cool!"

Rarity was clinking her front hooves together, concerned. "Oh, I do hope she's all right... She came to us one by one, asking us all here individually. We had no idea that Fluttershy wasn't going to be the only one here waiting. What if she has some serious news to tell us all?"

Twilight was just staring at large bags of bird seed nearby, perplexed. "... How does she run out of it so fast?..."

Just then, the front door opened, and each mare's attention was diverted to the source of the noise. Sure enough, Fluttershy stepped in, smiling warmly. "Thank you all for coming here, my friends. I have something I'd like to show you." She then diverted her eyes to the side towards nothing in particular, giving an approving nod.

'Go ahead, Vesper. Just like I asked.'

Since she first beheld the Panacea Crystal and its contents, Fluttershy had visited each of her friends, and took the time to console them over their latest woes. But that was only what they were recently concerned with. She wasn't sure if this would solve all of their problems, but, she hoped it would at least help with many of them.

Vesper had still chosen to remain unseen for now, but acted on Fluttershy's plan, just as she suggested. Within moments, he started to tap into the minds of each of her friends simultaneously. He closed his eyes, concentrating, wanting to put the utmost care into the process. The genie was accessing everything, including their thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and memories. Soon, he started to share each friend's minds with one another, practically uniting them, one of each set of thoughts in every pony. Vesper was careful to keep their personal secrets kept hidden from one another, wanting to respect their privacy. The five were astonished at the sudden rush of new knowledge that was flowing through them, giving a great amount of additional insight towards their companions. An emotional, overwhelming epiphany of ineffable impact overtook them all; they now literally completely understood each other.

The ponies were still and silent for a long moment, merely soaking everything in. Soon, there was a tremendous emotional outburst; they were each deeply touched by truly seeing and discovering how much they legitimately liked and cared about each other. They apologized for misunderstandings and unrealized transgressions, and forgave one another for the lingering damage their actions caused which was now undone. The five had always known that their longtime friendship had significant meaning and value, but never before had it been so clear, proved, and validated until now.

Fluttershy rejoiced, crying from sheer glee.

'I've finally done it. I've fixed everything with all my friends. They're so happy. I'm happy.'

At this point in time, Vesper became visible. He, too, was overjoyed with the results. The genie turned to Fluttershy, just as thankful towards her as she was towards him.

'I told you that you could create happiness. And now you have. More of it than I've ever imagined in my wildest dreams.'

Vesper was speechless. He looked to his hooves in disbelief. So many years he'd spent waiting for this day, thinking it would never come, and yet it finally had. The genie returned his attention to the pegasus, noticing that she craved to understand her friends just as much as they knew each other now. Ever grateful, he started to grant this next wish of hers. Fluttershy was promptly aware, closing her eyes as she took in the thoughts of all of her friends.

Suddenly, it stopped. Confused, she opened her eyes, startled by what she saw; her five pony friends were gazing at her in shock and sadness, mouths agape and tears in their eyes. Vesper himself looked just as troubled, suddenly experiencing a full return of his regret and guilt.

Panic raced through Fluttershy. 'What just happened? They can see my thoughts too, right? B-but I love all of them! I care about all of them! I have no bad thoughts towards them! I did all of this for them! Can't they see? O-or do they not like me anymore, because they saw my thoughts? What is it? What is it?!?'

"What's wrong?" She asked, her voice shaky.

Applejack was the first to speak up. "Sugarcube... None of us knew you wanted to kill yourself..."

Fluttershy's heart sank. 'No... No! NO!!!'

Twilight's voice quivered. "You were looking out for all of us, but, none of us were looking out for you..."

Fluttershy clenched her teeth out of stress, reaching for the pouch of sands with her hoof, but Twilight's magic levitated it out of her reach, setting it on the other side of the room.

Rainbow Dash clasped her front hooves together. "Please, Fluttershy, let us help you... We don't want you to go..."

Pinkie sniffled, having become a mess of tears. "N-nothing would be the same without you!"

Rarity shook her head. "We're so sorry we didn't know! We had no idea you were hurting so badly!"

Fluttershy whimpered, crushed under the waves of guilt and lament. "G-girls, please! I-it's not like that... I-I'm fine..."

Twilight walked closer. "You don't have to hide it anymore, Fluttershy. We're here to help you. We always have been. We're going to fix this, okay?"

Fluttershy trembled, looking between each of the distraught ponies. She couldn't handle what was going on right now. Out of everything she'd left unspoken, her steadily growing suicidal ideations were the one thing she always wanted to keep hidden. At that point in time, she glanced out the nearby window, noticing a high tree branch.

She gasped, exclaiming, "ANGEL, GET DOWN FROM THERE!!!"

Startled, the other five immediately turned their attention to the window. Fluttershy dove as fast as she possibly could for the sands, freezing time once more with none of the other ponies remaining mobile for the moment. Angel wasn't actually in any danger, or even outside -- it was just the first thing she could think of to say. Fluttershy took a short while to catch her breath and try to calm down, then rewound time to just before Vesper started to share her memories with the five. She felt bad about hiding something that seemed very important to them, but didn't want to go through the emotional turmoil that it brought, especially the part where they suffered for it.

The pegasus wiped away her tears, doing her best to compose herself, and then unfroze time. She did her best to smile, somewhat forcefully. Her friends were still then-distracted by the intense range of emotions they were experiencing from gaining complete empathy for one another.

"My friends, thank you for coming here, for this... I'd love to stay and talk more, but I'm very busy with something, I have to go..."

With that, she hurriedly galloped out of the house, freezing time so that no one could follow.

Next, Fluttershy returned to the cave. She had dug the Panacea Crystal out of the spot she hid it at, and was now clasping it between her front hooves. By now, it had started to mildly glow, providing her with a convenient source of light in venturing through the dark depths. The pegasus had stopped short of the first big cliff she'd found inside, noticing water and sharp rocks deep below. Dropping it down there would surely destroy it, where no one else could reach it. Fluttershy was nearly ready to let it go, and stopped, thinking of the other ideas she'd gotten before.

There were more sands inside the Crystal itself. She wasn't sure if the amount she'd held in the pouch all this time were enough to take her that far back, but, surely the entire Crystal's worth should be able to go twelve hundred years into the past. There was still a chance that maybe she could do this to reunite Skylar and Auburn. Or, so she thought, anyhow. There was no way to be sure. What if it would be a mistake? What if the very act of bending time that much could somehow irreparably destroy it? There was no one she could rely on, or ask. The frustration pained Fluttershy, but not as much as the guilt and sympathy she felt.

'I'm sorry, Skylar. I tried to help everypony, but I can't help you. I know you wouldn't want to do all that you've been trying to if you weren't hurting so badly. Just... I hope this gives you peace, somehow.'

She closed her eyes, her hooves shaking, trying to release the artifact.

Just then, the grating, soul-rending voice chilled her blood. "It's too late, Fluttershy. Your time has come."

The pegasus didn't want to turn around, but knew that she had to. By the cave's entrance several yards away was Skylar, once again covered in black flame, with piercing red eyes. But what shocked her the most was that Vesper, Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were behind him.

'I-It isn't a nightmare this time!!! This is REAL!!! He can hurt my friends!!!'

"Th-this can't be right! You can't be here! I've been leaving the Crystal alone for so long!"

"You pompous fool," Skylar snarled, "You brought me closer to here by spending time with the Crystal... And everything in it."

Fluttershy looked down in horror.

'THE SANDS!!! THEY'VE BEEN HERE WITH ME EVER SINCE I FOUND IT, THIS WHOLE TIME!!!'

The pegasus instinctively reached for the sands, but before she could touch the pouch, the string at its ends burned off. The pouch fell to the ground, surrounded in black flames, quickly whittling away. Fluttershy hurriedly crouched down, trying to salvage the time sands, but they were completely gone. Next, she reached for the Panacea Crystal itself, but it disappeared in a flash of light, reappearing next to Skylar.

Fluttershy looked back to Vesper, who was racked with shame and self-hatred. Her five pony friends were trapped inside a field of magic generated from him. "I'm sorry, Fluttershy... He made me bring them here..."

Rainbow Dash glared at Skylar. "He said he was going to kill you if he didn't! The genie tried to get us to run away while he left to come protect you, but we insisted on coming! We won't leave your side! We won't let him kill you!"

"I am almost completely back into the world of the living," Skylar continued. "All I need now is for you to die. Surrender your life to me -- let me end your suffering -- or else I will kill all of your friends."

Fluttershy closed her eyes, filled with pressure. How was she going to solve this? The sands were destroyed. Vesper was helpless, under Skylar's control. Her friends were possibly about to die. She would have to make a decision quickly. However, guilt and regret swallowed her heart.

'I've maybe doomed all of Equestria, all because I just wanted to help my friends...'

Then, the 'emotional bleeding' sensation picked up on something more. Fluttershy started to remember Auburn's words.

'Remind him of the truth... Remind him of the boarding home, the children, and his mother... Remind him of what happened to me... And you will set us all free.'

She opened her eyes, staring into Skylar. Noticing the black flames he was coated in, she remembered what Vesper taught her in Twilight's library, and deduced that it must be the creature that overtook him.

'What neither of us had realized is that Skylar hadn't created a mere container with that spell. He created a sentient, living being. All it ever knew or experienced was the pain that Skylar passed on to it, and it grew with each time that Skylar would have hurt without it, which was constant, never ending.'

The pegasus concentrated on her mental efforts, trying to reach far inside with her ability of empathy.

"You're better than this, Skylar. You were caring. You would never hurt anypony, for any reason. Is all of this really what you want?"

"You're wrong. All I want now is to reintroduce to Equestria what it has forgotten. What it is slowly returning to. Better for it to die swiftly by my hooves than to suffer entire generations of torment."

"Then why haven't you killed me yet?"

Skylar froze. He was unable to answer.

Fluttershy slowly started to approach him. "When you died, ponies of your time judged you. They called you a bad person. There's nothing wrong with just wanting to end your suffering. You were in so much pain that it outweighed your methods of treating it, and you couldn't find any other way. They labeled you as weak, and cowardly, saying you just took an easy escape. But it takes all the strength, courage and willpower you have to directly defy the survival instinct and take your own life. If killing yourself was an easy escape from your problems, everypony would do it. It wouldn't be so hard to be honest about your feelings, with others and with yourself. It wouldn't be so hard to forgive others when they've hurt you, sometimes irreparably."

As she drew closer, Fluttershy retrieved the locket Auburn gave her. It flipped open, showing the painting of her and Skylar, locked in an amorous embrace. "It wouldn't be so hard to find the brightest star in the darkest sky."

Skylar still remained silent. He was staring intently at the locket.

"Auburn told me about what happened. She told me about how you were always kind and caring towards everypony else, even when they never treated you the same. How you opened up the boarding home with your mother, and took in orphaned and disabled children. She told me about the fire you saved the children from, but you couldn't save your mother, even though you tried. You lived a life that was full of doing good. If you didn't die so early, you could have done even more good. You can still do good, just by stopping all of this before you do something you'd regret. I know that you care."

Skylar was wordless. He responded only by hanging his head out of shame. Fluttershy's friends had originally been scared and angry towards him, but upon hearing this new information and seeing his reaction, they started to feel confused and saddened instead.

Skylar's mental barriers were lowering. Fluttershy was able to tap in more. She was surprised at her next discovery.

"Skylar... You... You had none of your magical powers while you were alive... Except for one... Auburn told me that she would dream of you every night, like you were right there, like you never even died... That was you subconsciously reaching out to her with your desires... You thought of her every night, the way she thought of you, and... She'd wanted to know that if that was you, calling out to her... You did that, didn't you?"

Then, in his normal, living voice, Skylar answered her.

"... I did."

Suddenly, the black flames slowly melted away, rising up and dissipating into the air. It had uncovered Skylar's true form, looking just as he did as a colt in his early twenties. Fluttershy gazed at him, relief washing over all of them now that he came through.

Vesper released Fluttershy's friends from their magical bonds. They started to relax, grateful that the danger had dissipated.

Skylar turned away from view, deeply ashamed. "I don't want to hurt anypony... I never wanted to... I'm sorry, to all of you... I'm so sorry..." He winced, deeply disgusted with himself, then forced himself to look at them again. "I know I can't take back or make up for what I've done. I haven't been caring, considerate, or generous towards any of you at all. Especially to you, and you," he noted to Vesper and Fluttershy. Skylar closed his eyes, falling to his forelegs. "I don't deserve any of your forgiveness, mercy, or pity... Whatever punishment you feel is appropriate, I promise to accept it..."

Fluttershy cautiously walked closer to him. "You're... Truly sorry?..."

Skylar nodded. "Yes. Yes, I am."

The pegasus was able to pick up on his genuine sincerity with the 'emotional bleed' effect. She started to smile. "Good. I know you at least scared us all a little... You trapped and threatened my friends, hurt Vesper, and haunted me for a while... But, I know you never really wanted to... You stopped yourself from acting on it before something really, really horrible could happen... And you honestly regret it, you're truly sorry, and you're willing to make up for it... So... All's forgiven, as far as I'm concerned."

Shocked, Skylar opened his eyes, gazing at Fluttershy in bewilderment. "What?!? You... You really mean it?"

She nodded, paused, and then looked at her friends. It wasn't the first time Fluttershy and the other ponies had seen such a miraculous change in conscience, as seldom as it was; never had any of them expected the tyrannical Nightmare Moon to turn into the fair and thoughtful Luna, but it had happened nonetheless. And now Skylar had shed his bitter, tormented shell to become his truer, older self. They hesitated for a moment, and then gradually, silently expressed unanimous agreement.

Skylar trembled, simultaneously touched and heartbroken. It was as if he were experiencing a blissful dream that he knew was too good to be true, and dreaded the moment he'd inevitably have to wake up. He thought being forgiven would be all but impossible, and yet, it had just now happened, with little struggle. He shook his head, still in disbelief, shutting his eyes and covering his face.

"No, this isn't right... I shouldn't have this... I'm the worst pony that's ever lived... My entire life was one giant failure, just like my afterlife... And every part is all my fault... I've earned all of this pain..."

"That's not true," a soothing, gentle voice cooed from afar. Startled, everyone looked to the source of the sound. A warm, bright glow was starting to fill the cave, surrounding a figure that slowly came into view. It was Auburn. She started to approach Skylar, who was backing away in fear.

"N-no! It can't be you!"

"I don't mean to frighten you, my dear. Please, listen to me... I'm here for you now..." Auburn slowly closed in, and hugged her significant other. "I've missed you so much..."

Both of the lovers were inseparable in their embrace, tears flowing freely. Fluttershy was overwhelmed by the raw surge of emotions coming from both of them. Auburn had indeed missed Skylar more than she'd ever thought possible, and was relieved and overjoyed to be free from her bonds and reunited with the object of her affections. However, she was saddened by the pain still present in Skylar, wanting to wash it away and comfort him.

Skylar hadn't been ready to see her yet. He was overwhelmed with the guilt and shame he'd carried so long in ignoring her after his death, never accepting what happened to her until then. It had hurt too much to remember her, to think of her, and yet he couldn't help but always do it, wanting to make sure she would be all right.

"I never meant to do it, Auburn... I never meant to push you away..."

"Shh... It's okay... I've been hurting for a long time, yes. But, none of it is your fault. I promise. There's no way you could've known. I would've hurt the same way if our places were switched. I've loved you for more than a thousand years, Skylar, and I'm never going to stop."

Skylar squinted his eyes closed, squeezing out more tears. "I could have waited longer for you... I could have stayed alive for you... There's so much that I could have done for you, and I never did it..."

"You were hurting more than you could bear. I did, too, when I was without you. But, you've always cared about me, meant well for me, and loved me, Skylar. And countless ponies with countless carriages can never steal that away."

Skylar stopped, and started to smile. He was finally convinced that Auburn indeed still loved him, and began accepting that things were starting to get better. "I've missed you, too... And I really have always loved you, and cared about you... I always tried so much to be like you... To keep all the things about myself that you liked... To always help others, to care for them, and to treat them with kindness..."

Fluttershy smiled, beginning to approach them, holding out Auburn's locket. "Yes... That's why you deserve all of these..."

Skylar blinked, confused. "These?" Fluttershy lifted the necklace of the locket over Skylar's head, careful not to get caught on his horn as she placed it around his neck.

His horn.

Skylar's eyes veered upward, noticing the newfound horn on his forehead. He froze at a sudden realization, and turned his head to look behind him. Indeed, the cutie mark of a heart, for caring, was now on his flank.

Skylar silently gasped in shock. His heart leapt. "I can't believe it... I... I finally have it..." He slowly smiled, tears of joy glistening in his eyes. "After all this time... All these years... I have it..." He started to run and jump in circles, beginning to laugh happily. "AT LAST, I HAVE IT!!!"

Skylar dove back into Auburn's grasp, holding her tighter than ever. Auburn's grip tightened as well, exhilarated to see her love released from a cause of so much suffering over the course of his life.  "Even if you hadn't gotten it, you're still the best colt I'll ever know."

However, after another long moment of embracing, she started to appear pained. "I love you, Skylar... But my time is almost over... I have to go now... But, I'll be there waiting for you, when you're ready to see me again, okay?... I'll always be thinking about you..."

Skylar nodded. "I love you too, Auburn... I'll see you again someday... I'll always think of you, too..."

Then, the two lovers had their first kiss in several years; it would be their last for several more. They continued to embrace, until Auburn slowly vanished, leaving Skylar alone with the rest. He then turned his attention to Vesper. The genie wasn't sure how to react at first, but started to calm down once he could tell that Skylar meant him no harm.

Skylar stopped before the genie, struggling to find words for a few moments, clearly still bothered by how much he'd hurt him in the past. Finally, he managed to smile. "It's about time I've shown you the gratitude you deserve... My friend..." With that, he and Vesper embraced, as well.

Fluttershy and her friends rejoiced. The crisis was over, and they now could rest.

Suddenly, a bloodcurdling screech rang from deep within the depths of the cave.

Everyone froze, terrified. Fluttershy and her friends turned to look at Skylar, only to find that he was just as scared and confused as they were.

Loud, heavy breathing echoed along the spacious cavern walls. Soon, the distant shadows opened a pair of piercing red eyes.

"I was so close..." it growled, "You... Ruined... EVERYTHING!!!"

Fluttershy felt her skin turn to ice.

'The creature that inhabited Skylar is still here... And now it's free...'

Skylar attempted to perform a spell with his newfound horn, but to his shock, nothing seemed to be happening. "The creature! I can't do anything to it! I-It must have taken most of my magic and power when it parted from me! Fluttershy, I'm so sorry!!!"

The new threat began to draw closer, taking the form of a giant, dark, transparent dragon. It roared with fury, setting it's sights on Fluttershy, whose legs quivered.

'If it kills me, it will completely be here, in the living world...'

The creature took a deep breath, then continuously shot a gargantuan stream of fire from it's mouth. Twilight immediately encased herself and everyone else within a magical shield, which was being magically fortified by Rarity, Vesper and Skylar. As the flaming attack pressed on, Twilight and Rarity held strong, while Vesper and Skylar looked close to fainting. The diverted embers made their way to the Panacea Crystal, scorching it into nothingness.

Twilight gritted her teeth in strain, glancing at each of her companions, then briefly surveyed what little surroundings were visible beyond the fire and shield. "Everypony, I have a plan! Listen carefully!"

Moments later, the creature stopped, needing to regain it's breath for the next assault. As soon as this happened, the magical shield opened, just long enough for everyone save for Twilight, Rarity and Vesper to leave it. The others ran as quickly as they could, in fear of their lives. Rarity and Twilight were beginning to tire, as well.

The creature paused, noticing Fluttershy was gone, and growled. "No!!! You let her get away!!!" It turned away to chase after her, but Vesper and the unicorns were now using their magic to hold the creature back.

Twilight looked beyond the large dragon at her friend. "Keep going, Fluttershy! Fly away as fast as you can!"

The frightened pegasus obeyed, taking to her wings and rocketing into the darkness of the cave. Although she could barely see, and her nerves were shot, the 'beckoning' sensation seemed to be guiding her to safety, helping her avoid dangerous obstacles.

Finally, Vesper and the unicorns exhausted their energy for the time being. The creature turned, furiously swiping at them, but they had managed to put the magic shield back up just long enough to protect them. Before it could break, the creature raced after Fluttershy, not wanting to lose her.

By now, Fluttershy had long since passed Applejack and Pinkie Pie, but the creature hadn't reached them yet. They were unseen from above, having made their way to the side of a humongous pillar on a rocky platform. The creature was nearing closer.

"Now, Pinkie Pie!!!" shouted Applejack.

Both earth ponies kicked the pillar from opposite ends with all the force they could muster, causing it to begin crumbling. They quickly galloped away and jumped further down to safety, hiding in pockets of shadow. The shattered pillar fell down, creating a large, uneven stone barrier blocking the creature's pathway to Fluttershy. It bought the pegasus some time, as the stalled, enraged creature, with all of it's strength, still took a long moment to demolish it's obstacle.

"YOU THINK THAT WITH ALL YOUR PRETENTIOUS 'PROBLEMS', YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS HAVE EXPERIENCED 'PAIN'?!? YOU'VE NEVER KNOWN PAIN!!! EVERY SECOND OF MY EXISTENCE HAS BEEN PAIN!!!"

Fluttershy didn't dare look behind her, not wanting to lose track of where she was going. The creature was finally closing in on her. Before it could reach her, it was blinded by a bright flash of colors racing past it's eyes. Rainbow Dash was rapidly encircling it, creating a blurring rainbow cyclone that surrounded the creature's entire being, disorienting it. Soon, Skylar flew by, racing in front of it before turning to face it. He clenched his teeth as he forced a great amount of concentration on his newfound magic, encasing the creature in a transparent sphere. It constricted further and further, literally squeezing it in the blinding power of the rainbow.

This contained the creature's fury for another long moment, before it finally broke free once more. It swiped at it's two attackers, managing to knock them far away behind it, no longer unhindered by any other obstacles. Rainbow Dash was able to slow herself down to a safe speed, but couldn't fully stop before colliding with another pillar, stunning her temporarily. Skylar was merely sent a long length in the other direction, but eventually managed to press on and keep pursuing the creature.

The dragon released a large, spherical projectile of fire, just barely missing Fluttershy -- mostly. It had just managed to reach Fluttershy's wing, coating it in fire. Fluttershy gasped as she saw it, exclaiming in pain. The fire was spreading rapidly, burning the skin and feathers off her wing from top to bottom. Fluttershy tried to flap it faster, hoping this would extinguish it, but to no avail. The melting muscles strewn along bones were stretching, sizzling, and bursting. Her nerves were racked with pain, and her flying was becoming uneven.

The creature launched another ball of flames. Fluttershy's last good wing caught the bottom of the fireball, carrying her with it as it sped further into the darkness of the cave. This wing, too, was all but slowly and painfully seared down to bone before separating from the heat. Fluttershy was propelled forward, hurtling through the air as she gradually fell, turning over and over. She was gripped with agony and fear, the bony remains of her wings pointed upward, able to see the creature from far away. Suddenly, her fall was broken, landing on her back, quickly and excruciatingly grinding her wings down to jagged stubs, and sustaining rough scrapes along her back.

The ineffable pain was so intense that it had stolen Fluttershy's voice, even as she tried to scream. Her vision was blurred, unclear of what other injuries she may have sustained during the fall, wanting to hurry and get up so she could run to safety. She was positive her wings were now gone and useless, given the feel of discarded, charred bone crunching below her, oozing marrow that caked onto her back. As her focus slowly, but surely cleared, the pegasus began to inspect her body, checking to make sure she was in good enough shape to get up and continue on. She felt relief in the assurance that this would be the case from her findings. Fluttershy had sustained nasty scrapes and bruises all over the place, but all of it was only mildly scarring and non-lethal.

Then, she saw her hind legs.

One hoof was bent deeply inward, and the other was close to being pried off. Almost everything beyond that from her thighs down were mangled beyond recognition. Bones had split apart and torn outside through her bruised skin, covered in severed veins that were pouring crimson. She couldn't quite tell if her femoral arteries had been opened, but the steadily climbing amount of blood loss and nauseating excruciation seemed to suggest this. Fluttershy turned her head away, weeping quietly.

Suddenly, the loud echo of large, heavy wings beating caught her attention. Startled, she forced herself to become silent. The creature had lost track of Fluttershy, and was slowing down, trying to find her. The pegasus did her best to fight the panic still gripping her nerves, looking behind her to notice an opening in the wall. It was a small crevice just big enough to hide Fluttershy and keep her out of the dragon's reach. Biting her lip, she started to crawl backwards on her still-functioning forelegs, glancing back and forth from the dragon to the wall, reaching for safety. The chill of fear was growing colder.

'It's getting closer...'

As she glanced at the nearing, oblivious creature, Fluttershy noticed something in the corner of her eye. It was Skylar, catching up. He noticed what had happened to her, and saw how close the creature was.

"Stop!" Skylar beckoned. The creature turned to face him. "I'm the one who kept you trapped! I'm the one who hurt you all those years! It's me you want!"

The dragon paused, beginning to acknowledge the one who created it twelve hundred years ago. It's full attention was now on Skylar, furiously lashing out at him, blinded by rage. There were several near misses, with Skylar just barely managing to evade the swipes and lunges, trying to slow it down by luring it's swings into colliding with nearby walls.

With the dragon distracted, Fluttershy now had her window of opportunity to escape. She firmly planted her front hooves far behind her head, starting to crawl backwards. The crippled pegasus did her best to refrain from making noise, with faint, shuddering whimpers escaping her throat. The intense agony from her injuries was still eating away at her, hindering her progress as she dragged her broken legs. Her glances cycled from the crevice, the dragon, and her injuries, trying to gauge how close she was to safety, if at all.

Skylar was still doing his best to outfly the creature's reach, trying to both appeal to it and protect Fluttershy. "I never meant to hurt you at all! I had no idea that I was even doing it! I had no idea that you even existed! But that doesn't change that I still did it anyways, and that it was wrong!"

The injured pegasus continued to make her way closer to the wall, desperate to sink into the safety and seclusion of the crevice. The whole time, she was careful not to let anything else around her touch the injured areas atop her legs. While Fluttershy had mostly managed to avoid potential hindrances, her movements became frantic and hurried as she neared the crevice, so much so that she didn't notice her pried hoof snagging onto a nearby stone. With her next crawling pull, the hoof was peeled further back with a foul, moist crunch, sending a fresh jolt of advanced pain through Fluttershy's body. She couldn't contain the ear-splitting shriek of excruciation resulting from it.

This immediately caught the creature's attention, turning from Skylar to face Fluttershy. Without hesitation, it lunged for her, ready to take her life so it could completely exist in Equestria. Skylar exclaimed, just barely managing to encase the dragon in a magical restraint. It was clear that he was exerting all the effort he had to hold it back, clenching his teeth, his face twisted in strain. The dragon continued to fight back, thrashing against it's confines and screeching in protest. Fluttershy hurried to dislodge her broken hoof from the stone, and resumed crawling towards the crevice as quickly as possible.

The dragon pushed it's way closer towards her, freeing itself further with every moment. Skylar started to scream from the sheer pain involved in pushing his raw magic this far, blood beginning to trickle down from his nostrils and eyelids. Even with every ounce of his power being utilized, the dragon was still approaching Fluttershy, slowly, but surely. While still greatly slowed down, it's movements were still quicker than those of the injured pony, and it's longest, sharpened claw was reaching out, aiming to pierce Fluttershy's heart. The doomed pegasus closed her eyes, turning her head away, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Goodbye, my friends..." she whispered.

She braced herself for the claw's pierce, and felt nothing. Everything was silent. It was only moments later that she opened her eyes, confused to hear the dragon struggling.

Fluttershy looked up, and saw the dragon was fully restrained, this time by Vesper. He had grown to match the dragon's size, and was holding it's forelegs with his own from behind in a headlock. Skylar's magic had just run out; the colt fell down onto his side, beaten down by fatigue, barely conscious. Fluttershy looked at the genie's eyes.

'What about my other friends?'

'They are safe.'

Suddenly, Vesper's normally dark velvet hue began to steadily glow brighter and brighter. As the light intensified, the creature's groaning protests grew in volume, as if it were in pain or in fear, although the genie wasn't actually hurting it at all. Fluttershy had a grim thought.

'... And... And what about you?...'

Vesper returned Fluttershy's attention. He was silent for a moment, full of lament, and then replied.

'This is where we have to part ways, Fluttershy. The creature can't be held back any longer, and if it isn't vanquished, it will destroy everything and everyone you know and love. I... I can't erase it without going with it.'

Fluttershy's heart sank.

The creature continued to thrash and exclaim within Vesper's grasp. It reached out in refusal, wanting to continue it's rampage.

Fluttershy shook her head softly. "There's no more pain for you... You don't have to suffer anymore... You can rest now..."

The creature, beginning to understand, stopped resisting and succumbed to it's new fate.

Fluttershy nodded, "Yes, that's it... Farewell, and may Celestia forgive you, you sad, sad being..."

Vesper grimly nodded back at her. 'Goodbye, Fluttershy. Even though our time was far too brief, and full of pain, I'm still proud to have been your genie. I'm going to miss you.'

She smiled weakly. 'Thank you for everything you've done for me, Vesper. I'll never forget you.'

With that, the light of the genie's aura continued to brighten, until it culminated in a blinding flash, resulting in a radiant burst. As the darkness returned, both he and the dragon had completely vanished.

The pegasus rested her head back against the ground, releasing a deep, heavy sigh. She was full of a deep melancholy, as blue as the veins outlined along her pale, sickly skin. The sensation of lightheadedness had reached a peak for her now.

'This is really it. This is really the end.'

Groaning slightly, she tilted her head to the side, just enough to catch a view of a nearby pool of blood. In it's reflection, she saw her own face, dimmed to a ghoulish tint.

'I'm dying. I'm really dying.'

Fluttershy closed her eyes, resting her head back once more. She frowned, grimacing and wincing at the aching pain that continued to permeate every fiber of her being. Once she'd gotten past the awareness of how physically pained she was, her final thoughts began to creep in. They were just as unpleasant, if not more, than the grief caused from her injuries.

'I never got to say goodbye to everypony else. So many of my other friends in Ponyville... Spike, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Cheerilee... Angel, and the rest of my animals... I... I couldn't help them, or give them a proper farewell... I never got to talk to Granny Smith with Applejack, and have her move in with me... I never got to finish talking to Twilight, and explain everything that happened... And Vesper is gone... I've fallen short of so many things I wanted to do... Failed at so many things I've tried... Too many failures, disappointments, and heartbreak... Not enough peace, comfort, and joy...'

She wept silently, shuddering. The sense of abysmal despair was slowly eating away at her. An entire lifetime of never being able to reach her goals, no matter how hard she tried, was coming back all at once. The bad memories had always outweighed and outnumbered the good ones. Just as Fluttershy had feared, she was going to die the same way that she lived; incomplete, full of woes and regret.

From off in the distance, Fluttershy could see the large silhouettes of Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Rainbow Dash desperately searching for her. Even now, she was surprised to see just how much they cared about her. She never doubted that they had, but couldn't understand why they ever liked somepony like her.

Then finally, after reflecting further for a long moment, she smiled.

'But... I still did my best... And... I finally made them happy... Even if it was only for a few minutes, I got to make my best, closest friends completely and truly happy... Just once, I did it... Now they're closer than ever before, and I helped them get there... And Skylar... He finally found his peace, his cutie mark, and Auburn... And Vesper got to leave having done what he wanted... To create happiness... I... I made everything with all of them all right...'

Steadily, the despair gripping Fluttershy's chest was replaced with triumph. With tranquility, and release. With peace, comfort, and joy. The pegasus may not have completed everything she desired, but she was content with what she had managed to accomplish, which was the most important to her. She could find solace in knowing that she'd always lived being a good person, who would always do the right thing, and treat everyone around her with kindness, no matter how they treated her. A majestic relief graced Fluttershy in knowing that now, she, too, could finally rest.

"My friends, I love you all..." she whispered.

The last sound she heard before the darkness closed in was Skylar screaming out her name.

"And I don't feel scared

I declare

I have everything I need

There's just me being hard on me

Box up my bones

I'm coming home

I'm free

Free"

• Cynic's "Box Up My Bones"