>"Jennifer?!  What happened?"
 
>Only a dull thud answers you.
 
>You fling yourself out of the bed to make a mad dash for Jennifer's room.
>You tear around the corner, spinning 180 degrees out your door and into hers.
>Jennifer is lying limply on the floor, blood collecting around her head.
>You reach out a hand, but are tossed to the side by a nurse bursting into the room.
>Several others join her in swarming over Jennifer before one of them turns back toward you.
 
>"If you don't have any medical training, get out of the way!"
 
>You stammer for a moment before scrambling out the door and slumping against the opposite wall, looking in until they shut the door.
>The bumps rub uncomfortably against the wall, and you slowly stand.
>You need some air.
>You step out into the courtyard.
 
>The air is calm.
>You take a deep breath, but you're still trembling.
>You can still hear the commotion.
>Lots of hoofsteps stampeding around the nearby halls.
>You aren't sure if you're just freaking out or if it's all getting louder.
>You become a little more sure it's not just you when you start to hear the yelling.
>You crane your neck to look back in that direction and find yourself sailing through the air from a phenominal impact with an unseen force.
 
>You slam into the far wall, back first, and immediately crumple to the ground.
>You have no idea what this is.  You'd never imagined anything so agonizing was even possible.
>The pain is so intense you can HEAR it.  Wet, meaty ripping sounds.  Deep, bass crunching noises.
>Jennifer?  Jennifer who?
>You can't move.  You can't think.  You can't even breathe.
>Everything you are falls away, leaving only a flimsy shell that can't possibly hold back the tidal wave of raw suffering bubbling out of you.
>You become vaguely aware of blood pooling on the floor around you.
>If you still had the capacity to put two and two together, you'd know the blood was yours.  But you don't.
>All you know is that you'd give up everything you've ever had for this to stop.
>Your stupid body can't even grant you the mercy of passing out.
 
>Shards of brick and wood rain down around you.
>Clouds of smoke and dust obscure everything, not that you'd be able to concentrate on looking.
>The commotion has evolved into unfettered chaos.
>Ponies running and screaming in all directions.
 
>You can almost make out a shadowy figure crawling toward you.
>Slow, but desperate and uneven.
>It looks like it reaches out for you.
>You try to speak, but nothing comes out.
>Your lips... your throat... your lungs... all paralyzed by the pain.
>Soon, it doesn't matter as the earth rips out from beneath you and you're thrust into the sky, riding toward the heavens on a crumbling block of dirt.
>With a jerk of brilliant light, you come to a halt, floating in a cloud of your own blood as the soil cracks apart and succumbs to gravity.
>Celestia's horn continues glowing as she shoots you a concerned look and frowns back at the disaster below.
>You can't say for sure what did it, but you'd like to think it was Celestia doing you a kindness.
>Your eyelids fell shut and the agony stopped.
 
-----
 
>You roll over and open an eye.
>It's dark in here.
>You feel... good.
>Groggy, but good.
>Where are...
>SHIT
>JENNIFER!
>CELESTIA!
>You frantically whip your head around to get a better look at your surroundings, then breathe a sigh of relief to see you're in Fluttershy's cottage.
>Dim, flickering light filters in underneath the door, but it's enough.
>Curtains block the window.
>Something about the smell is off, too.
>None of that is important, though!
>You were...
>How did you get here?
>What HAPPENED?!
>Is anyone hurt?
>What day is it?
 
>Hoofsteps approach the door.
 
>"Fluttershy!  I'm glad that... well I'm not sure what to be glad for yet, but-"
>The door creaks open.
>You stop talking and stare with a bewildered look on your face.
>That's not Fluttershy.
 
>Rainbow Dash is standing in the doorway, balancing a breakfast tray on an outstretched wing.
>Her face has a few light stains on it, and there's a small cut on one of her hooves.
>The toast looks a bit burnt.
>You're fairly sure you understand what's JUST happened, but you're definitely going to need to know what happened BEFORE that.
 
>Dash holds up a hoof.
>"Yeah, I know.  You have questions.  Probably LOTS."
>She trots up to the side of the bed and sets the tray down in front of you.
>"But you need to eat first.  And drink.  Lots and lots of liquids.  You lost WAY too much blood."
 
>You look down at the food, then back at Dash.
>"You seem awful calm."
 
>"If I let myself panic, we'd be dead by now.  I gotta go bring AJ some rain."
>She looks away and bites her lip.
>"PLEASE don't go anywhere or do anything stupid.  No matter what."
 
>"O...kay?"
 
>She resumes eye contact.
>"Promise me."
 
>Her gaze is mostly steady, but there's a quiver to it that bothers you.
>"I promise."
 
>She takes a deep breath, then leans down and wraps a wing around your neck.
>"I'll be back in ten minutes, tops."
 
>You nod and she turns to leave.
>She stops at the door, staring ahead.
>"I'm sorry," she says, not turning back.
>She exits and closes the door behind her.
 
>You sniff at your food.
>You take a bite.
>It's... much better than you expected.
>You figured Dash would've ruined breakfast, but she did alright.
>You hastily consume the rest of it and then throw your legs over the side of the bed.
>You stand, stretch, and immediately note that something is off.
 
>WAY off.
>The spots beneath your shoulder blades feel all wrong.
>You move a hand back to actually feel them, and you start to freak out.
>There are appendages growing out of you that don't belong.
>And they MOVE.
>The skin on them feels disgusting, like the surface of a scab you never stopped picking at.
>You look down at the bed and see spotty bloodstains all over the sheets.
>At least, that's what you think they are.  The low light makes it hard to tell for sure.
>You reach for the curtains and throw them open...
>And nothing happens.
>It's pitch black outside.
 
>One of the fleshy things coming out of your back brushes against the other one.
>They can feel.
>Suppressing the urge to hyperventilate, you experiment with your unnatural new limbs.
>You can control their movement, but not well.
>The sound of the front door shutting startles you.
>You open the door to the room and scamper down the hall.
 
>Dash walks into the middle of the room, looks at you, and winces.
>A stiff breeze floats in through the door and her mane dances in it.
>"Eesh... still not pretty."
 
>You scowl.
>"Nice to see you, too!"
 
>She sags downward, looking tired.
>"That's... that's not what I meant.  You just... you definitely still need to eat."
>She takes a look toward the kitchen and smiles weakly.
>"I can make you more, if you want."
 
>Why do you need to eat more?
>Right!
>Questions!
>"What exactly is going on around here?"
 
>She rubs a hoof against the back of her head.
>"Heh... where do I START?"
 
>"I don't know... where's Fluttershy?"
 
>Dash's eyes mist up.
 
>That was probably a bad question to open with.
 
>She keeps opening her mouth like she's trying to answer, but every time she only ends up choking back a sob.
 
>"...Oh..."
 
>The two of you sink through the depressing silence for a few minutes.
 
>Dash wipes at her eyes with a hoof.
>"If I'd been there, I could've... I could've done... I don't know.  If I was there, I could've helped.  Done SOMETHING... but I wasn't, even though I wanted to be.  Even though I had every reason to be.  I was just... I was afraid.  I'm... I'm such a c-c-coward."
>She starts wretching on that last word and falls to the floor, covering her face with her hooves.
>"And all that worrying was for n-nothing!  Because now it doesn't matter.  Because now, I'm not even worth it.  I know I didn't DO it, but that doesn't excuse not being there when I was needed most!  I let my own stupid feelings get in the way, and now everything is ruined!"
 
>You're pretty lost, but not so clueless that you can't tell Dash needs reassurance.
>You kneel down and cradle her head in your arms.
>Without really meaning to, you wrap one of your raw back-limbs around her, too.
 
>Little globs of blood ooze through the wretched skin and leave red stains on her coat.
>She cries into your chest.
 
>"I can't pretend to know what you're going through, but I can tell you that if you give up, it's over.  You have to give tomorrow a chance."
 
>She lets out a hideous wail.
 
>You squeeze harder and stroke her mane.
>"Shhh... no tears now."
 
>She wrestles her way out of your arms.
>She blinks, clearing away some of the liquid so she can establish eye contact again.
>"You don't understand!  There IS no tomorrow!"
 
>"What are you-"
 
>"Tomorrow isn't going to come, because the sun is never going to rise again!  Fluttershy, Luna, Celestia, I... I don't even know how many ponies are already dead, and there'll be a whole lot more before anything has a chance to get better.  Twilight's managed to figure out a way to keep Applejack's farm running with her magic and some water, but that's barely enough food for what's left of Ponyville."
 
>"If there's that little food, then why are you insisting that I eat MORE?"
 
>"Are you kidding?  You need all the nutritional junk you can get!"
 
>"What FOR?"
 
>"How else are your muscles gonna develop or your feathers supposed to come in?"
 
>"My WHAT?"
 
>"Don't tell me you haven't noticed the huge wings sticking out of your back!"
 
>"Is THAT what they're supposed to be?"
 
>"As far as Twilight can tell, yeah.  She could probably explain it a lot better than I could, but that's what was hurting all of the humans.  Their bodies were changing in ways they were never meant to.  Before the new bones formed, your old ones started hollowing out to make you lighter.  That's why you were all weak and sore when you first got here."
 
>"Wait a minute, that explains plenty about that for now, but..."
>You hesitate.
>Is it fair to ask her?
 
>"You want to know."
>She looks out the door into the cold, black void before turning back to you.
>"What happened?
 
>You give a very small, meek nod.
 
>A few more tears leak out of her eyes, running down the matted channels on her face and splashing against the floor.
>"I wasn't there, so I don't know.  You're the only survivor we found.  Fluttershy... Fluttershy actually never left.  She went from room to room checking up on all of you."
 
>It breaks your fucking heart that Fluttershy - a creature kindler and gentler than you ever imagined possible - would be snuffed out trying to help.
>Your jaw clenches.
>Whoever's responsible is going to pay.
 
>"There was... some kind of crazy magic explosion.  Twilight says she's never seen that much residual energy concentrated in one place before.  The whole castle is gone.  Most of Canterlot was wrecked by falling chunks and panicking ponies.  There's no sign of Celestia or Luna or the sun or the moon or the stars, and every day it gets colder.  It's not so bad yet, but it will be; Twilight says all the water is gonna start freezing in a few weeks."
 
>You're not really experienced in badassery or threat-making.
>They're going to pay... with interest?
>COMPOUND interest?
 
>"That's the picture.  I don't have ALL the details, but those are pretty much the things we know.  And I... I WAS there, Anon.  I was there, like, TWO HOURS before it happened, and I could've been there to stop it.  I was... I was going to get something off my chest.  I even got some good advice first that I didn't expect.  I had EVERY reason to stay, but I was too much of a freaking CHICKEN!  I could've been there."
>She closes her eyes.
>"I SHOULD'VE been there.  And I wasn't."
 
>"I'm sure anything that can scare YOU off is a good reason to run, but it really doesn't matter."
>You put a hand on her shoulder.
>"You're here now."
 
>"I... I'm gonna try to make some more food.  I know I'm not exactly a top-chef, but you should try to push some of it down.  You really need all you can get, because your wings are gonna be HUGE."
>She shrugs your hand off and trots toward the kitchen.
 
>"Hey."
 
>She stops.
>"Yeah?"
 
>"Thanks.  For everything.  Including breakfast."
>You grin.
>"It was actually pretty good."
 
>She smiles and lifts into a hover, fluttering gently toward the fridge.
>For the first time, you notice the flickering candlelight splashing over the room.
>You look around and notice that the place is a little messier than you remember.
>You also don't see any of Fluttershy's critters.
>Your nose twitches, and you realize what smells wrong.  You can't smell any of her animals.
>You really hope they can manage in the wilderness without a tender caregiver to watch over them.
 
>A few clattering noises echo out of the kitchen, along with a quiet "ouch" and a grumble or two.
>You wiggle your "wings" a bit, then shiver.
>You shut the door.
>Your nose twitches again.
>Something smells good.