It's Called 'Living'

IT’S UP TO YOU. IT’S ALWAYS UP TO YOU
-Terry Pratchett, “Maskerade”

~~~

Outside, the animals howled, roared, whined and cried. Fluttershy sighed and struggled out of bed. She’d left most of the chores to Applejack while she’d been sick, but this sounded urgent. And in any case, it wasn’t fair to drag the earth pony out of her bed this late. She might have been healthier and sturdier than Fluttershy, but she wasn’t much younger, and complained about her aches and pains as much as Rarity did.

Fluttershy must have still been a little feverish, she thought, because the trip outside was something of a blur. There, every animal was in an uproar, scratching at the ground or tearing at their homes.

A pale earth pony stood at the border to Fluttershy’s home, held at bay by the grim faces of Dragon and Manticore, her little reminders of Angel Bunny. The two rabbits, though no larger than Angel Bunny ever had been, formed a clear barrier to the newcomer. At Fluttershy’s approach, however, they turned. Dragon’s eyes widened, and he let out a mournful mew.

“Dragon Bunny?” Fluttershy asked shakily. The rabbit shook his head and turned back to the earth pony, looking up into the stranger’s wide blue eyes.

The earth pony sighed and stepped forward; Dragon and Manticore tensed, and Fluttershy, entirely involuntarily, stepped back away from the newcomer. The earth pony glanced at each of the rabbits, causing them to quail away from her; when she stepped forward again, however, a growl echoed through the forest. She froze, mimicking Fluttershy’s own fear-induced paralysis.

“This is not how I expected this to go,” the other mare murmured.

“I’m sorry?” Fluttershy tried to step forward, but found Dragon and Manticore blocking her way. She stopped, relieved that she didn’t have to approach the stranger. As much as she wanted to keep her friends from upsetting this mare, something about her was unnerving. Somehow, she didn’t seem quite real, and in Fluttershy’s long experience, the unreal was more often than not something terrifying. “Maybe you should come back later, when the animals are less skittish?”

“I’m afraid it won’t do much good,” the other mare replied. “They don’t approve of me. More importantly, they can sense your fear.” She settled down on the ground, sparing no attention to the animals. “And I can’t leave as long as you’re so frightened, Fluttershy. Dying in such a state doesn’t end well for anypony.”

Dying? Fluttershy shied away from the other mare, and Dragon followed, glaring back at the pale earth pony as he moved. She wished, vainly, that anypony else were here - Rainbow Dash, if she were still alive, would be the best, but even Rarity would be a help against somepony who wanted to hurt her.

“I don’t think dying in any state is something I want to do,” Fluttershy replied. She glanced to the right. She’d recognized the earlier growl from one of her bear friends, and hoped he was still lurking nearby to help. “No offense, but it sounds...scary.”

“It’s a little late to worry about that,” the mare replied. “Most ponies manage to die without my assistance. My concern is, and always has been, the transition.”

Fluttershy felt an uncomfortable, albeit faint, twinge of fear. “I...I’m dead?”

“You have been ill,” the other pony replied quietly.

“Oh.” Fluttershy sank to the forest floor and attempted to accept a nuzzle from Manticore; the bunny’s nose, however, passed through her muzzle, and a strange shiver ran from her nose to tail. “Is it alright if I just stay here?”

“No, Fluttershy. There is somewhere you need to go now.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “I’ve lived here ever since I was a filly, and I was terrified to come here. All my friends are here, and-”

“Not all of your friends.” The other mare’s words, though even and quiet, brought Fluttershy to a halt.

She’d never been very religious; that sort of mysticism was usually reserved for unicorns. But she was aware, vaguely, that some ponies thought there was a place you...well, your mind went, after you died. She’d taken up much too much of Rarity’s time talking about it after Rainbow Dash had died; the thought that Rainbow Dash was out flying through Paradise Estates was a comforting one.

Still, the thought of having to adjust to a new home was petrifying...not to mention the uncertainty of what would really happen to her.

“Do you mean Rainbow Dash is going to be where I’m going?”

The pale pony, when faced with Fluttershy’s hopeful gaze, ducked her head away, eyes fixed on the ground. “I couldn’t say. Where you are going is somewhere I cannot.”

“Oh!” It wasn’t conscious, Fluttershy’s movement to the pale pony’s side. It was just that...hearing the tiniest hint of loneliness in her voice had made it imperative Fluttershy comfort her. “It must be lonely, sending other ponies on to somewhere you can’t follow.” She leaned in, wrapping a wing around the other pony’s side.

“It isn’t all that bad. I get a chance to meet everypony, in time. And...sometimes, ponies are glad to be moving on.”

“I...could stay and help you,” Fluttershy whispered after the pale pony fell silent. “You’d never be lonely again.”

The pale pony did not respond for a long time, and as the silence stretched on, Fluttershy began to worry. She’d offended the other pony, and she’d send Fluttershy somewhere terrible. Or maybe she’d leave Fluttershy alone herself. She didn’t realize she was shivering until the feeling of warm wings stretched over her back. Fluttershy started, and looked up, expecting but seeing no wings.

“Miss?”

“It is my purpose to do this duty on my own,” the pale mare replied. “And I think you would come to regret abandoning all chance at seeing your friends again. Your fear of what lies beyond is understandable. And even your...kindness to me. But you are mortal, and I am...not. There are things I am made to bear, and that you are not. And...”

The pale mare turned away, and when she spoke, it was so quiet Fluttershy wasn’t certain she’d heard anything at all.

“Your friend is waiting for you.”

Her heart (or something like it, now that Fluttershy didn’t have any organs) leapt, and Fluttershy felt a sense of warmth at the knowledge there was something familiar waiting for her.

“If you’re sure you’ll be alright,” Fluttershy said quietly. “I don’t want to think you’ll be lonely here.”

“So kind,” the other mare murmured. “But unnecessary. As long as there is life, I am not lonely. Go on. Find your friends.”

And so, unafraid, Fluttershy went.