//------------------------------// // Day Two: Fluttershy // Story: Nightmare Moon's Mask // by yoshiXII //------------------------------// New Day. Get up. I groaned. It was dawn and I was astounded. How did I sleep for a whole day? Like yesterday, I didn’t get much sleep after the nightmare. Staring at the wooden ceiling almost soothed me more than sleep. I felt delirious and tired, but escaping the nightmares was my main priority. What a life I was living. Getting up and sleeping just for the thing to do its work. I walked out again and it was the same process again. The mask would use its magic to look at the elements. This time it chose one with a pink blutterfly. Instantly, I thought of the pegasus that was feeding the animals in front of her cottage. So, because I already knew that, the mask didn’t bother to go through the process to match the cutie mark. I dreaded what was to come even more than the previous pony. Even though this pegasus ran away from the sight of me, I still felt the need to protect this innocent pony from the horrors to come. There was a bit more connection with her that was hard to describe. Plus, she seemed really shy and was friendly with animals. Well, since her cottage was close to ours, I took the walk over. Yet again, it was a nice day with no cloud in sight. It was a pity that it wouldn’t rain so that the ponies would know the horrors to come. If this was supposed to be an apocalypse, I would’ve expected it to be like my nightmare. Soon enough, I chanced upon the tree cottage with its multiple habitats containing animals. The yellow pegasus was again feeding each one of them. I wondered why she felt obligated to help these animals. They could’ve easily survived by themselves. It must be her hobby or talent. “Hello, Fluttershy.” Like yesterday, she uttered a quiet meep and darted back into the cottage. I could hear the mask utter curses as it tried to find another way to “talk” to her. I felt myself walk toward the door with the mask controlling me. I pressed my ear up against the door, but it was silent aside from the clock ticking softly. I waited a few moments until eventually the mask lost its patience. “Hello? I didn’t mean to startle you. Can I get to know you? I’m new around town.” Unfortunately, that was the mask forcing my own voice out. I felt grossed out, yet I couldn’t do anything about it. Still, the door didn’t open and there was still this awkward silence. This pegasus must be really unsociable compared to the rest of town. It made me wonder how the mask would cope with this challenge. I secretly hoped that this might stop him. I sighed. “I see you have many animals around your cottage. I really like how you treat them well. I’m an avid naturalist myself and I love interacting with animals too. Something about their habits and quirks seem interesting in a way to me.” The door opened a little. I saw her head peek timidly out. What was she doing? Didn’t she know that this was all part of the mask’s wicked plan? Why couldn’t these ponies see through this act? “Could we have a chat over a cup of tea?” I asked hopefully. Luckily for the mask and unluckily for me, the door opened. It might as well have been a white flag. I saw Fluttershy go to brew some tea on the stove. I felt myself smile broadly as I walked toward the sofa inside. I audaciously plopped down and relaxed. I felt a bunny tapping at my leg, though I casually levitated it outside. “I-if you don’t mind me asking,” Fluttershy said in a demure tone, “How come you have N-nightmare Moon’s mask on?” “It seemed particularly fashionable to me,” I declared. “Oh, sorry for asking,” she said. She uttered a soft squee that made me feel so sorry for her. I wanted to destroy the mask for being so cruel to this pony. “Now where was I?” I said, back to the mask’s voice, “You do realize that your shyness will be the demise of you. Element of Kindness, but can be quite brave in certain circumstances. Often too much of a pushover, but can be assertive. You’re a tough cookie, you know that right? Difficult personality to work with.” “Well, I don’t know about that,” Fluttershy said, a little confused. “I’m not sure what you’re getting at.” “You see, everyone harasses you. Even your friends. Even your family.” Fluttershy winced at that. “But, you simply don’t care. When you’re friends point out your flaws, and rather rudely at that, you still don’t get angry or discouraged.” “I’m glad that I have my friends to point out the flaws,” Fluttershy countered. “They know that I can drag them down, so they have to give me advice. In fact, I think I don’t deserve these nice friends that put up with what I do.” She reminisced on old memories while standing by the stove. I sat up. “So you foolishly believe that these ponies are good inside. I think that they don’t deserve you. A pony so kind and caring, yet they treat you like a doormat.” Fluttershy wagged a hoof at me. “I see where you’re going, but it’s not going to happen. I’m not going to assert myself that much again. Who knows who I might hurt this time? I already caused so much torment to Pinkie and Rarity and I couldn’t bear to do that again. I’m sorry, but Discord already tried this on me.” She humphed and stuck her nose in the air. I cheered inside for her. She already resisted a lot more than Rainbow, despite being shy. But the mask, cunning as ever said, “I see. However, even though you think they are acting for your well-being, I’ve seen them talk behind your back. Don’t you ever feel like you are the odd one in your group of friends? Like you don’t belong and they know it?” Fluttershy shuddered. “Well, I do my best. I can understand if they’d do that considering how annoying I must be to them. I can only hope that I can become more like them instead of being shy-” “-well, don’t you think this shouldn’t happen?” I interjected. “Here you are living a quiet and peaceful life that most ponies admire. Does it ever occur to you that their teasing and cynicism are because they are jealous?” “Oh no,” Fluttershy scoffed. “Like back in Cloudsdale, I’m sure the ponies weren’t jealous of my inability to fly. But even then, they were doing it for my good because they wanted me to succeed at flying. It was mainly my fault for my attitude.” “But consequently, people start ignoring you. They feel that you are not special and as time goes on, they start worrying about more important matters. In their eyes, you’re nobody, just a background pony. Doesn’t that bother you?” I could tell the mask was getting frustrated. “That only gives me more room to improve, so that I can be accepted. It’s not their fault that they forget about me. They have their own priorities and that makes me all the more forgettable.” “Well, don’t you think that it’s pathetic how you can’t break your shyness and how your flaws constantly get in the way of your daily activities? Don’t you feel ashamed at times?” “Yes, but I know that I can stop it. It’s only a matter of time and perseverance.” “Why don’t you just isolate yourself from your friends then? Isn’t it too much of a hassle to go outside and communicate?” “But, I need to buy food for my animals. And my friends all depend on me as well.” “So you’re content with your life?” Fluttershy nodded. “Definitely.” “Well, you know what I think? I think that you should be separated from the outside world. And I’ll even give you the food that you’ll need to feed all of your animals. All the food for a lifetime. So from now on, you should only stay within the general vicinity of your cottage and never go into Ponyville or anywhere else.” My horn glowed again and I watched as Fluttershy transformed into a Fluttershy devoid of color and personality. As the kettle whistled, I watched as an immense supply of food covered the majority of the cottage. At least the mask had some decency to know that the animals would starve. Within a few minutes, we saw a dejected Fluttershy feeding the animals. I stood up and stretched before heading back outside. The animals were still peaceful and didn’t know what happened to their caretaker. I regained my body and I took time not to lose balance this time. Since I already saw the process of degeneration of the ponies, I felt numb to the horror it implied. It just wasn’t fair. Fluttershy didn’t even give up; she was just introduced to new false ideas by the mask. What was the point of breaking her down if you only did it halfway and then cheated? I felt sympathetic for her. She even knew to resist such malicious thoughts, yet the mask had to have its own way. Why couldn’t the princesses or the townsponies do anything about this? Surely they realized the effects by now. Or maybe an illusion was placed over Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy to make them seem normal. I didn’t know. What I did know was that this wasn’t going to end well. With each passing day, the mask grows closer to its goal. If these ponies can’t find a solution to this, then we were all doomed. I started imagining the moon coming down and crushing us all. An angry face plastered its surface while the entire town panicked. Not a pleasant thought. Then I started thinking about how I could stop the mask. The mask did say that it could take control of my body, but I wondered if my resilience could break its power. I would only need to have control for a few seconds in order to kill myself along with its spirit. It seemed grim, but this was only for a last resort and I was getting very desperate. I had to be careful not to reveal this plan to the mask, so I didn’t think about the details. But, I think I will bide my time. I trotted back to my cottage and again, it was only noon. But, I felt so tired that I fell asleep. Closing my eyes, I tried not to reflect on my position. It would only bring despair. Giggling. Like the skull kids I heard childish laughter. I snapped open my eyes to see ponies around me in a circle. At first, I thought this was a continuation of the zombie dream yesterday. But I realized that all of these ponies seemed normal apart from the laughing. “Thanks for bringing the moon down on us. Thanks for destroying our population. No worries. Do you want to play a game?” “What’s the game?” I asked, not wanting to know the answer. “It’s a game where we see who’s the last one to die. It’s one of the best since you only play it once. No rules. Just fun.” I looked around, sickened. All of these ponies were clearly delusional. Their eyes were lit with a cruel passion and the enthusiasm radiated from them. What was wrong with them? All of a sudden, they started killing each other. And laughing. Regular ponies would grab metal bars and cave other ponies’ heads in. Pegasi dive bombed the ponies and twisted their necks. Unicorns made ponies’ brains bleed through their ears and out their eyes with their magic. All the while, I remained a spectator in the middle of the circle. They paid me no heed and continued joyfully killing each other. “Stop!” I tried to say, but my voice was dead. The ponies still ignored me. Then the mask appeared in front of me. “Au revoir, Skull Kid.”