Fluttershy’s cottage was full of life and noise as the critters scurried about, eating up all their lettuce and berries. The canary yellow pegasus knew just what each animal loved to eat for dinner, and she flew back and forth, setting down all of their favorites. She worked her hardest to make sure that every animal was happy. Harry the bear loved salmon for example, and even though she didn’t really care for the consumption of it herself, she went out and gathered some from the river anyway. Harry thanked her for the fish with one of his famous hugs.
She was looking over the animals when she spotted one in particular that was not munching on some fruit, her grumpy rabbit Angel, who was tapping his foot and crossing his stubby little arms in defiance of the food he was given. Angel was a very picky eater, and would usually stomp about angrily until he got what he wanted. Fluttershy expected this, however, and got something special for the little guy.
“Oh, Angel bunny, look what mama got for you!” She sang while moving out a delicious, crunchy, 8-inch carrot from behind her back. The white rabbit yanked it out of Fluttershy’s grasp and began chomping on it with glee. Satisfied that every critter was full, she left the kitchen to check on her less healthy patients. In particular, a squirrel she had taken in a while back. She had found the poor thing right outside her cottage, and simply had to make sure she was alright.
She trotted over to the tiny hammock where the sickly squirrel lied. She was a small, grey forest squirrel named Berry, and she had recently gotten a nasty virus the likes of which the animal caretaker had never seen. She often fell into coughing fits, and she could hardly eat. Luckily, her natural remedies and kindness were stemming the spread of the disease, and no other animals had been infected. But her worries resurfaced when she saw the state Berry was in.
Her fur was starting to fall out in clumps, showing the pink skin beneath, her eyes had sunken into her skull and she was violently shivering. The pegasus swiftly grabbed her thermometer, and placed it in Berry’s mouth. It didn’t look good, the poor squirrel’s body temperature was still rising, and she started coughing uncontrollably. Her natural mother instincts kicked in and she extracted the thermometer and placed a tiny ice pack on the critter’s forehead instead. Berry smiled warmly at the caretaker’s gesture, but continued coughing a second later, her whole body convulsing with each tiny breath.
Fluttershy’s eyes widened with panic as she reached for a book she had picked up on rodent care. She flipped through the pages as fast as she could, but nothing was listed that bore any sort of resemblance to this. The whole cottage grew deathly silent as Berry fell into yet another fit of violent coughing, when her body finally lay back on the sheet, blood was dripping down her mouth. Her eyes dilated in fear and her heart started beating madly inside her chest. Fluttershy wrapped the sickly animal in the make-shift hammock and through on her saddle packs, placing her friend gently inside. Fluttershy ran to the front of her home before she turned around and looked at Angel. He looked genuinely concerned for his animal friend, and he looked his owner right in the eyes.
“Angel, honey, I’m going to find Zecora; she will know what to do. I need you to watch over the cottage while I’m gone, okay?” Angel tied a cute little green bandana around his forehead and gave his master a salute, giving him the appearance of a small, cuddly, furry mercenary. “Good boy, Angel, make sure everypony gets to bed on time. I will be back as soon as I can.”
Fluttershy checked on Berry one last time before leaving her home. She had stopped coughing for now, but her breaths were slow and ragged. As Fluttershy ran into the Everfree forest, she looked up at the sun. It was about to set, and there were only about 2 or so hours left before the nocturnal hunters woke up. She doubled her pace; she had to get to Zecora’s hut before nightfall.
*****
Thankfully, Fluttershy knew the layout of this forest inside and out, so she had little to no trouble at all clearing through the undergrowth and vegetation. Leap over a rock there, a fallen tree just up ahead, a fork in the road, always take the left path. She had to slow her pace however, when a pack of thorn bushes appeared in the path that was too thick for her to run in. She carefully picked her way through the vines and thorns, steadily moving forward. She thought she was making steady progress, but she could not see the sun at all from behind the canopy of leaves, so time seemed to blend in with the darkness.
Fluttershy crouched very low to the ground to move underneath the brambles. She had to stop very often to make sure that the thorns would not tear her saddlebags and injure Berry, slowing her movement to a snail’s pace. In the process, she was poked and jabbed numerous times, and by the time she reached the end of the bramble patch, she was covered from head to hoof in small cuts and scrapes.
As she steadily rose to her full height, finally free of those bushes; she heard a rustling sound nearby. Her ears swiveled outward and she darted her head back and forth, trying to find what had made that sound in the inky blackness. She saw nothing, but faintly heard a sort of…panting. Like Applejack’s dog Winona does when she gets too hot. Fluttershy tugged her saddlebag closer to her side, and began inching along the path; Zecora’s hut should be only 10 minutes or so ahead…..she hoped.
*****
Something was wrong; she should have reached the hut by now. Was she wandering in circles? Fluttershy thought she saw that same rotting log 4 times already. Fluttershy had no way of telling which way was correct in the murky darkness, even with her prior experiences in this dreaded wood. She merely continued in the direction she thought was true. The path here was narrow, with tall trees standing almost trunk to trunk on either side, creating a natural archway out of their branches. The moon’s light was just barely shining through the leaves, casting a series of eerie shadows on the path around her. Had the forest not been filled with deadly monsters and poisonous plants, this would surely have been a popular walking trail.
She heard a twig snap behind her, and her eyes immediately widened and she turned her whole body around in fear. She thought she saw something dart between the trees. It looked like a thin, wispy tail topped with an arrow, but it was so dark that she couldn’t truly make it out before it vanished from sight. She kept staring curiously at the spot that she saw the tail, waiting for something to come out. The background noise of the Everfree melted away as all of her focus became concentrated at one spot in the darkness.
………….
………….
………….
“CAW!!”
A raven fluttered its wings flew off its perch, scaring the poor mare further. Fluttershy scanned the trees for any other animal that might be hiding, her eyes frantically darting back and forth. Berry fell into another coughing fit inside the bags, snapping Fluttershy out of her trance. Realizing that Berry did not have much time left, she quickly got moving again, straining her eyes to see the path in the dim moonlight.
*****
She continued down the path, walking slowly and constantly swiveling her head around like a cornered mouse in an attempt to look out for oncoming danger. She started to lose faith in her travel, for no matter how hard she searched, the murky depths of the Everfree forest did not yield a single familiar landmark. Fluttershy’s breathing became shorter and sharper when it dawned on her that she may never again see the light of day. Her eyes moved down to follow the road, but to her horror, the dirt path had vanished entirely, she must have wandered far off the trail somewhere in the dark. She kept searching for the safety of the path but she stopped when she noticed something very, very wrong.
The Everfree forest lay completely still. No creature made any noise, not even the crickets were chirping. Fluttershy started hyperventilating, and she checked the inside of her bags again. Berry had fallen unconscious, but she was still alive. The nurturing pegasus sighed in relief, but her breath was cut short when she felt that she was being watched. She felt a jolt of pure adrenaline race down her spine, making her fur stand on end and her wings extended against her will. She slowly turned her head and was greeted by a pair of glowing, green eyes.
The orbs of luminescent green glowed brightly enough for Fluttershy to realize just what she was looking at, a Timberwolf. It moved its wooden jaws and growled at its prey, tree sap drool hanging off the beast’s canine teeth. Fluttershy was frightened beyond belief, fear pulsing through her mind. She tried to lift her legs, her mind begged for movement, but her hooves refused to respond. The creature took a step forward, and as it towered over the yellow mare, her eyes widened and her ears fell flat against her head. The Timberwolf turned its wide muzzle and sniffed at Fluttershy’s body, making her blink in confusion. When her squirrel friend coughed more violently then before; the wolf snapped its jaws at her saddlebags, tearing them off of her body.
“NOOO! You leave Berry alone you big bully!” Fluttershy ran underneath the Timberwolf at full force, using her wings to propel her at her target. Her eyes that had just seconds ago been filled with fear radiated with courage and determination. The monster blinked and moved its head underneath its chest to follow her movements. Taking advantage of the wolf’s confusion, she flapped her wings and in one fluid motion, propelled herself off the ground and upper-cut the creature directly in its jaw bone. Her front hoof made solid contact, a loud crack echoed through the forest as the wood splintered under the force of her punch. The Timberwolf reared back in shock and brought a paw up to its shattered muzzle. It gave the splintered wood a soft push, and the bottom half completely fell off, releasing her bags in the process.
Before Fluttershy could take advantage of the clear shot she had at rescuing her squirrel, a fallen tree next to her gained a spooky green aura. The Timberwolf willed the tree closer to it, blocking the pegasus’ path. She watched in horror as the wolf broke a sizeable piece of the trunk off with no apparent effort and carved out a new jaw with its claws and attached it back into place. With its newly constructed mouth, it growled at her and once again scooped up her bags, intent on having its meal.
Fluttershy jumped onto the fallen tree and then into the air above the wolf. She then fell back hooves first in an attempt to strike with a downward kick. The wolf jumped out of harm’s way just before the pegasus’ hoof could connect. Landing softly, Fluttershy took to the air again and dive-bombed her foe, her face filled with rage. Before she could react, the timberwolf tossed her bag into the air and opened its jaws, waiting for its meal to come falling down.
Without a second to lose, Fluttershy rocketed herself toward her saddlebags. The wind pressure lashed at her face, making her eyes water as she focused solely on saving her friend. No matter how many monsters she faced down, no matter how many times she had been brave for her friends, nothing could prepare her for what happened next. Her squirrel friend, still wrapped in her blanket, fell out of her bags and plummeted straight into the Timberwolf’s hungry jaw.
The agonizing sound of bones being crushed and teeth mashing together echoed all over the forest, burning them forever into the memory of the horrified pegasus. The squirrel’s tiny muscles and intestines were ground into a pulp by the creature’s powerful jaws, and each time its maw opened, she could see a clump of fur or a leg bone sticking to the creature’s teeth. Her wings failed her and she fell to the ground like rock, her scratched body tumbling a few feet in the dirt. Having finished its light snack, the wolf snatched up her bag and shook his head like it was tearing off a piece of meat. Fluttershy tried to rise to her hooves, but her bones quivered and she collapsed under her own weight. The sounds of cloth ripping filled her ears as the rest of her bag was torn to ribbons by the jagged teeth of the predator.
She spat out a clump of dirt and looked at the monster that just brutally murdered her animal friend, and was now probably going to eat her. Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed in despair, her wails echoing all throughout Everfree. As the last shreds of her saddlebags fell softly to the ground, she saw another object fall along with them. She and the hungry wolf both watched as the furry remnants of Berry’s bushy tail fell right in front of the mare’s face. The Timberwolf took a lumbering step that shook the earth, and lowered his head to the crying pony. Even through her tears, she could see small droplets of blood leaking out the side of his mouth as it opened wide. Fluttershy accepted her doomed fate, curling into a ball and awaiting the inevitable.
“I’m so, so sorry Berry. I couldn’t save you. I-I-I tried…b-but I wasn’t…..strong enough.” She sobbed again. Suddenly her mind was filled with the thoughts of her other animal friends. Angel bunny stood in front of them all, standing before a gravestone that read, “Here lays Fluttershy, Element of Kindness.” The realization dawned on her, if she died, who would look after them? Her friends would surely do their best, but their abilities would be needed elsewhere. Only Fluttershy could possibly take care of all those animals by herself. She opened her eyes with new-found hope. Fluttershy was not going to die, not tonight.
Just as the Timberwolf’s jaws came close to her head, she rolled away and stood up, not looking back before she took off running. It angrily barked and began charging at its fleeing meal. It chased her through the undergrowth, dogging her every step. Fluttershy always heard the creature’s breath on her back, and pushed back her earlier tears. She decided that Berry could be mourned later, if she lived through this night.
The panic-stricken pegasus raced through the forest with the teeth-gnashing wolf right on her tail. She forced her legs to move far beyond their normal limits and though her muscles begged for rest, she pushed on anyway. Her body screeched in pain as tree branches and barbs cut into her fresh wounds and even made new ones that started trickling small streams of blood. Ducking and weaving through the twigs and fallen trees, she ran ahead, always aware of the thunderous sounds of the massive wolf crushing every obstacle in its path. Seeing a faint light through the shrubs, Fluttershy galloped with all her might out of the thicket. She burst out of the tight, constricting corridors of the trees and found herself in a moderately sized clearing.
There was a steep cliff that rose out of the ground before her, forming a solid wall. The forest surrounded it in a half-circle of densely packed trees that scraped the sky with their branches. Their leaves did not reach over the edge of the tree line, allowing the full moon to cast its haunting glow over the clearing. There was not a single shrub or bush in this clearing, the forest ended utterly at this place. The earth here was also unnaturally smooth, as if somepony had cut the grass very recently. She only had a few precious seconds to wonder where she was, however, before her attacker came crashing into the clearing as well. Fluttershy turned around and started backpedaling from the monster as it closed the gap between the two. The pegasus suddenly felt something cold on her back, and gasped in horror when she realized she had become literally trapped.
With the cliff behind her, and the timberwolf inching ever closer, there was not enough room for her to extend her wings to fly away. The canary yellow mare’s eyes darted back and forth, trying desperately to find a way out of her predicament. Unfortunately for her, the only path of escape had been cut off by a massive, bloodthirsty Timberwolf. She tried reaching out with her feeble voice, shaky as it was, to the monster that towered over her in the full moons light.
“Um, m-m-ister Timberwolf? I-I-I know that y-you must be…be…” She gulped loudly as it licked its lips greedily. “Hungry. But you don’t really w-w-want to eat m-me. I’m such a small meal.” She pointed at her small stature, pointing out how unappetizing she must look to a predator of that size. Her choice of words resurrected the image of the wolf devouring Berry, and Fluttershy lost control of her tears. Compared to her own body, her poor squirrel friend was hardly an appetizer for this beast. And it looked even more ravenous now than it did before the chase.
The wooden beast looked at her with its huge, empty eyes for a minute before it took two steps back and sat on its rear end. Fluttershy sighed in relief; until the fear came back a hundred-fold when the creature raised its head up to the full moon and cried out long and loud.
“AAAAWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” It howled, sending ripples through the trees that surrounded the clearing, rustling the leaves and forcing the pegasus’ heart to race inside her chest. All was silent for an antagonizing while, just her and the wolf, staring straight at each other, neither one making a move. The wolf’s ears suddenly perked up, and a few seconds later, four more Timberwolves emerged from the bushes, each one hungry and ready to feast.
Fluttershy wondered to herself how it had come to this. All she wanted was to help one of her animals. She always offered every creature her kindness, but these beasts could not be reasoned with. Her thoughts drifted to Rarity, her posh unicorn friend. If she were here she would probably say that this was the worst possible thing. Fluttershy chuckled slightly in spite of herself; this was no time for jokes. She would die here, in this forest clearing. Trapped between a rock and four sets of razor-sharp, bone-crushing teeth, tears started streaming down her face as she sobbed in defeat.
One of the wooden monsters took a step closer, and the terrified mare curled herself into a yellow ball of fur. She hugged her wings around her defenseless body in a pathetic attempt to hide. She prayed for Rainbow Dash or any of her friends to save her, but she knew it was futile; nopony is awake at this hour, and she was too far from Zecora’s hut to expect help from her. The four Timberwolves stepped forward her and howled in unison, signaling their joy at finally hunting a decent meal for a change, instead of starving. They stopped dead in their tracks however, when their howl was returned across the clearing.
“AAWWOOOOOOOOOOO!!” Something howled back to the predators. Fluttershy suddenly found herself shivering and her teeth rattling against each other, as though all the warmth in her body had been forcibly taken. She briefly wondered what creature had created this new howl. It was unlike the cry of the Timberwolves, it was much more subtle, almost spectral in its softness. Like a ghost crying out in the dead of night. The fear that this new cry brought with it was not the fear of a hungry carnivore about to eat; but of the grim reaper standing at your doorstep. Whatever it was, she was stuck between being horrified and grateful that the very sound was able to strike fear in the hearts of Timberwolves.
Unable to move from her spot, she stared straight at the wooden wolves. The way they were growling and yipping back and forth, they almost seemed to be arguing. One kept looking around the edge of the clearing, searching for something. One had its tail between its legs and would most likely have fled if it had not been for the leader snapping at it. At the urging of the alpha male, the four wolves regained their composure. The apparent leader of the wolves growled at Fluttershy and continued to approach her, though more cautiously this time. It took another step forward, but pulled pack its paw when the ghostly howl returned again.
“AAWWOOOOOOOO!!” At this last call, all of the wolves craned their necks upward to the top of the cliff. There, outlined by the pale light of the full moon, was the harbinger of their doom. Fluttershy tried to look straight up the cliff, but she could not see from her current position what was frightening them so. Regardless, she silently thanked it for prolonging her life this much further. The creature the Timberwolves eyed steadily suddenly leapt from its vantage point atop the cliff and landed gracefully in between the hungry animals and Fluttershy.
Fluttershy had never seen a creature of this kind before. It was a canine of some unknown breed, no taller than her, and not even close to the size of the mighty Timberwolf, though their fear of this creature was unmistakable. Its pitch black fur made it ideal for hiding in the darkness, and it eyes glowed red like hot coals. Its body was coursing with sinuous, lithe muscles that the animal expert recognized as signs of an agile predator.
At the top of this creature’s head were two horns that raked harshly back and looked like they had been whittled down in combat to a formidable sharpness. She thought it was wearing a collar, but she came to the morbid realization that the white formation around its neck was made of bone. Something about this creature seemed familiar, and she gasped as she realized the similarities. She instantly remembered the tail of this creature; it was long and snakelike, topped with an arrowhead. Had this dog been following her this entire time? Had it known that she would need rescuing in this dangerous place?
This new creature made no move, standing perfectly still before the hungry wolves. The lead wolf glared at it fiercely, and its pack soon followed its example. They had finally found food, and nothing would stand in their way, not even this dark beast. Fluttershy whimpered in fear again, and the new creature turned its head back at her. The two shared eye contact for the briefest moment, but she could understand the creature’s desire. It wanted nothing more than for Fluttershy to be safe. And it would do all in its power to protect her. Fluttershy still did not understand the reason why this dark dog wanted to save her, but she was grateful nonetheless.
“Thank you.” She uttered softly. With that, the black dog turned back to the Timberwolves and lowered its head. It barred its sharp fangs, widened its stance and released a low growl to intimidate its opponents. Fluttershy thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, because she could almost see small embers escaping the creature’s throat as it growled. The leader, unimpressed with the minimal display of force, began charging headlong at Fluttershy’s savior. The wolf bounded forward with its teeth bared and merciless eyes piercing Fluttershy’s soul. In response, the black dog brought all of its feet together, raised its head high and took a deep breath.
Fluttershy will never forget the events that unfolded next. As the wolf approached at lightning speed, the demon dog lowered its head and unleashed a massive column of bright red flame from its maw. The fireball enveloped the Timberwolf, setting the entire creature aflame. It howled in pain as the fire consumed its organic body. The stream of fire blew past the Timberwolf and towards the remaining pack. The others leapt out of harm’s way, and the flamethrower collided with the trees surrounding the clearing. The creature halted its attack, and Fluttershy watched in shocked silence as the entire clearing turned into a field of fire.
The fire spread all along the forest perimeter, racing up the trunks of the trees and the foliage between them; forming an impenetrable wall of death from which the remaining Timberwolves could not escape. Grey and white smoke rose high into the sky like a pillar of clouds. Fluttershy stared at this creature in terror. What kind of demon was this? It breathed fire like a dragon, but it was no bigger than she was! A pathetic whimper drew her attention back to the ball of fire that was the Timberwolf. Its body had been burned to a dark black, and its limbs were falling apart at the seams from the heat of its personal inferno. The wolf toppled over onto its side, but its body burned away to ashes before it even hit the ground. Only four wolves remained, and they cowered in fear of the devil hound.
The black dog raised it head once more and unleashed another blast of flame. The wolves dodged again, the flames licking at their heels, unrelenting and merciless. One of the trees came crashing down on top of one wolf, pinning it down whilst turning its body to charcoal. It cried out in pain, struggling frantically to escape from the weight of the tree. The others turned to help their fallen friend, but the black dog jumped onto the burning tree, startling them. Seemingly not suffering from the flames that surrounded its body, it growled at it last three victims. The one under the tree was now completely consumed by fire, with only seconds of life remaining. In its last moments, it pawed at the scorched earth feebly, before turning to ash as well.
The remaining wolves turned tail and fled from their foe. The black dog targeted one and jetted after it. The creature’s thin frame allowed for very swift movements and it blended into the fire as it raced along the ground. Catching up to its prey in a matter of seconds, it coated its fangs in a blanket of flames and lunged at the wolf. The hound’s jaw clamped down on the Timberwolf’s neck, crushing the wood with ease. The wolf lost its balance and tripped over its, paws steadily catching fire as it and the dog tumbled. The massive Timberwolf turned to a pile of burning dust on top of its killer. Seconds later the dog rose from the ashes like a phoenix, staring down the last two wolfs.
The black dog blasted another wall of fire that utterly consumed one wolf so fast that it could not even recognize that it had been hit before it disintegrated. The wall of flame burned so intensely that it distracted itself from the sole surviving wolf. The grass of the clearing was ignited by the blast and the demon looked around at the sea of fire. Its ears perked at the sound of a feminine shriek. It turned its attention back to its target; and saw that the last wolf had run over to Fluttershy in desperation. It knew there was no way out, so it might as well eat one last time. The black dog's eyes widened in fear and it charged at the Timberwolf from behind.
The horned demon blew out a short trail of flame, this one thin and controlled rather than the massive columns it used before. The fires reached the Timberwolf’s tail and rapidly set the entire creature aflame. Fluttershy felt the sweat evaporate off of her face as the creature’s face ignited inches away from her own. It reared up on its back legs and fell on to its back as the hell hound’s fire claimed its life, turning to ash just as its brothers had.
The blast of fire was too strong however, and Fluttershy watched in horror as it reached up and scorched her thigh below her cutie mark, sending an agonizing wave of pain through her body. The fire stream attached itself to her fur and she was left shrieking in pure agony as her skin shriveled and split from the heat of the flames. She frantically beat her smoldering coat with her hooves to put out the fire that was inching up her leg. She tried rolling onto her side, and smothered the fire with the dirt beneath her. Though the fire vanished, the searing pain lingered on her thigh, and her screams soon died off as her throat became too sore to even speak.
Her eyes filled with tears of pain, she looked at the field around her. The smoke that rose from the inferno around her turned the air into a toxic gas and Fluttershy coughed and wheezed to get some oxygen into her lungs. The whole area glowed bright red as the unnatural fire continued on its destructive rampage. Trees, bushes, the grass; nothing was spared from the hell hound’s onslaught. That very beast that started it all was now standing in the center of the destruction it had wrought. To Fluttershy, it looked like a monster that had escaped from the fires of hell as it howled at the full moon amongst the inferno of burning wood. The pain became too great, and against her will, her eyes closed and her mind drifted into unconsciousness.
*****
The black dog stood alone in the burning field, listening to the crackles of the trees as they burned was soothing to its ears, and it felt at peace. A gust of wind blew across the clearing, lifting the ashes of the Timberwolves into a swirling cloud. The dog stood still as the ashes blew past its muzzle, it had no empathy for such merciless killers. With a flick of its tail, it turned back to Fluttershy.
Noticing that the pegasus had collapsed, the black hound walked silently over to her. It lowered its head down to her chest and propped a pointed ear against her fur. Amongst the snaps and crackles of the fire, the dog could hear a faint heartbeat. It looked along her body for any damage the wolves might have done. Her yellow fur was stained red with blood from her many cuts and lacerations, but there were no major slash or bite wounds. Feeling happy that it had succeeded, the demon pawed at her disheveled pink mane a little, feeling how soft it was as a reward for its good work. When it was content with its fun it continued the injury inspection. Its ears drooped and it whimpered when it saw her burns. A sizeable chunk of her fur, including part of her cutie mark and flank had been seared off. The charred skin was splitting in several places, showing the glistening muscle underneath. When she woke, she would feel unbearable pain. The dog had not intended this, and called out softly to her unconscious mind in sorrow.
The dog moved its neck underneath Fluttershy’s limp body and hoisted her onto its back, struggling slightly to hold her weight. It turned its head westward and stared into the burning trees that blocked their path out. It closed its eyes and summoned a protective field around Fluttershy. Confident that she was safe, it slowly carried her through the smoldering trees. The fires bounced harmlessly off the shield, sparring her any more pain than she would now have to endure. After passing through the flames, the shield fell, and the hound walked on in utter silence, the snaps of the fire echoing through its mind.