“Girls!” shouted Fluttershy as she flew towards the sounds of the screams. The longer she flew, the louder the screams seemed to get.
Suddenly the screams stopped. “Girls!” shrieked Fluttershy, fearing the worst.
“Fluttershy?!” yelled Scootaloo’s voice. “Down here!”
Fluttershy looked down to see Scootaloo waving up at her. The yellow pegasus breathed a sigh of relief as she flew towards the filly. Scootaloo looked fine.
She landed in front of Scootaloo. Fluttershy could see her reflection in the filly’s sunglasses as she walked up to her. “There you girls are,” said Fluttershy. “I was worried that-”
“Fluttershy!” exclaimed Scootaloo in a panicked voice. “We were just-”
“We have to get the hell out of here, now!” said Fluttershy, cutting Scootaloo off. “There’s something dangerous that’s-”
“I know,” interrupted Scootaloo, “It-”
“It’s called a Cockatrice,” said Fluttershy. “It’s a very dangerous creature. We can’t take the chance that it will find us. We need to get back to Ponyville and warn everyone.”
“Fluttershy?” asked Scootaloo.
“Yes?”
“Did this creature look like a mix of a chicken and a dragon?” asked Scootaloo. “And can it turn ponies to stone?”
“Yeah,” answered Fluttershy. “Why?”
“Because you just missed it,” said Scootaloo shakily. She pointed to her left.
Fluttershy turned her head and gasped at the scene before her.
Most of Apple Bloom’s body had been turned to stone. Only her head was left unaffected. She smiled nervously at Fluttershy and said, “There’s no need to tell Applejack about this, right?”
Sweetie Belle moaned. She was crouched on the ground, her hooves over her eyes. “What happened?”
“Are you girls alright?” asked Fluttershy, rushing towards them.
Apple Bloom looked down at her rocky body. “…Ah’ve been better.”
“My eyes hurt…” moaned Sweetie Belle. She moved her hooves away from her face and Fluttershy gasped. Sweetie Belle’s eyes had been turned to stone.
“Why’s it so dark?” asked Sweetie, looking around. “Are we in a cave or something?”
Fluttershy looked at Scootaloo. “What happened?” she asked seriously.
Scootaloo gulped at Fluttershy’s tone and said, “We were looking for your chicken when we heard something in the bushes…” She gestured towards Sweetie. “Sweetie went to check it out, but she fell backwards clutching at her face. The monster rushed out and hissed at me and Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom went to go help Sweetie Belle, but the monster turned her body to stone.”
“What about you?” asked Fluttershy.
Scootaloo gulped. “I-it walked towards me and hissed. It stared at me, but, before it could do anything, you started yelling. It ran away after that.” She pointed to her right and said, “We found your chicken, by the way…”
Fluttershy turned her head and saw the stony form of Elizabeak lying a few feet away. She frowned and turned back to Scootaloo. “What was she doing out, anyway?”
Scootaloo looked at the ground and mumbled something.
“What was she doing out?” repeated Fluttershy forcefully.
Scootaloo pawed the ground with her hoof. “I…sort of…let her out? As a joke…”
Fluttershy inhaled sharply and closed her eyes. “Scootaloo. Do you know why I have a chicken? And why I keep it so close to the Everfree Forest?” She continued before Scootaloo could answer. “It’s because a chicken’s crowing is the only thing that can kill a Cockatrice. I keep Elizabeak close to the Forest in order to ward them away from Ponyville.”
“Oh…really?” asked Scootaloo, feeling guilty. “I-I didn’t-”
“Obviously,” said Fluttershy. “Do you know how lucky you are? A Cockatrice needs direct eye contact in order to turn ponies to stone. Your glasses are the only reason you’re fine.” She gestured towards Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. “The others weren’t so lucky. Your ‘little joke’ turned them to stone.”
Scootaloo kept looking at the ground. “I...I didn’t…”
Fluttershy sighed. “I know.” She spread her wings and flew towards Apple Bloom. She picked the mostly petrified filly up in her arms and turned to Scootaloo. “Follow me and bring Sweetie Belle with you. We need to get away from here.”
A few minutes later, Fluttershy set Apple Bloom down next to Twilight’s stony body. “There…now we’re all in one place…”
Scootaloo led Sweetie Belle near Apple Bloom. “Just stay put, Sweetie,” she said, letting go of the other filly’s hoof.
“Roger!” said Sweetie Belle, saluting. She swung her hoof out and smacked Apple Bloom in the face.
“Ok, ow…” muttered Apple Bloom, tearing up slightly.
Scootaloo looked at Twilight’s body. “Twilight too…”
Fluttershy sighed. “Yeah…Twilight too.” She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again. “Look…we need to stop that Cockatrice.”
“We do?” asked Scootaloo.
“We can’t let it escape into Ponyville,” said Fluttershy. “Who knows how many ponies it will turn to stone?”
“Man, it would suck getting turned to stone,” said Sweetie Belle, rubbing her petrified eyes. “Are we in another cave, by the way?”
“Give me your sunglasses,” said Fluttershy.
“Ok?” said Scootaloo as she handed them over. “But why?”
Fluttershy put the glasses on and stared down at Scootaloo. Scootaloo gazed into the lenses and saw her own scared visage. “Because I’m going to hunt down that Cockatrice,” said Fluttershy with finality.
“You?!” asked Scootaloo incredulously. “But-”
Fluttershy patted the smaller pegasus on the head and smiled. “Don’t worry, with your sunglasses, I’ll be fine. You stay here and guard the others, ok? I’ll be back.”
Scootaloo watched as Fluttershy turned and walked back into the forest. “Shit!” she muttered.
“What?” asked Apple Bloom.
“This is my fault…” said Scootaloo, her gaze dropping to the ground. “Fluttershy has to go fight that thing because of me.” She looked up, a determined expression on her face. “I’m going to go help her!”
“Hang on,” said Apple Bloom. “There’s no way Ah’m lettin’ one of my friends go fight a dangerous monster!”
Scootaloo regarded Apple Bloom. “No offense, but how are you going to stop me? Most of your body’s stone.” And with that, she turned and ran after Fluttershy.
“Ha!” said Sweetie Belle pointing at the direction she thought Apple Bloom was in. “She sure told you!”
Apple Bloom frowned at the back of Sweetie’s head. “Sweetie Belle. Yer pointin’ at a tree.”
Meanwhile:
Fluttershy strode down the forest path, Scootaloo’s glasses covering her eyes. “Alright, you little bastard…” she muttered. “Where are you? Too chicken to fight me?”
“You tell him, Fluttershy!” said a voice to her left.
“Thanks, Scootaloo,” said Fluttershy distractedly. She froze and turned her head.
Scootaloo smiled up at her. She raised her hoof and waved. “Hi!” she greeted.
“Scootaloo?!” yelled Fluttershy. “What the fuck are you doing here?! I told you to watch the others!”
“I want to help you!” said Scootaloo. “I want to make up for all this.”
Fluttershy sighed. “Look, I’m glad you realized your mistake and I’m glad you want to fix it, but that Cockatrice could show up at any...” She trailed off.
The bushes behind Scootaloo started rustling. A long, serpentine body slithered out from the bushes. It rose up, its back facing the ponies. It slowly turned around, revealing that the creature had a chicken’s head with glowing yellow eyes. It opened its beak, revealing its sharp fangs. It hissed at Fluttershy.
Fluttershy looked at Scootaloo and said, “Whatever you do, don’t look.”
Scootaloo nodded and shut her eyes.
Fluttershy strode past Scootaloo and glared at the Cockatrice. “Give it your best shot, asshole.”
The Cockatrice suddenly swung its tail at Fluttershy. The scaly appendage whistled through the air as it came closer to the pony.
Fluttershy quickly caught the tail in her hooves and smirked. “Damn, I’m good,” she said confidently. She spread her wings and rushed towards the monster and slammed into its chest. The Cockatrice flew backwards, the wind getting knocked out of it. Fluttershy quickly yanked on the tail, making the monster stop and slam its back into the ground.
The Cockatrice hissed as it got back up and spread its own scaly wings. It took off high into the air, before diving at Fluttershy.
Fluttershy smiled and ducked.
The Cockatrice’s yellow eyes widened and it tried to pull out of its dive. Its efforts were in vain; it sailed past Fluttershy’s crouched form and slammed into the ground head first. Its head was buried deep in the ground and it tried to pull itself free.
Fluttershy gazed at the monster and smirked. She strode forward, until she was right behind it. She suddenly did the splits and punched the monster right in-between its legs.
The Cockatrice squawked as its head shot up from the dirt. Tears ran down its face as its legs buckled, sending the monster sprawling in the dirt.
“Thank you and goodnight,” said Fluttershy with a smile.
“Holy shit!” said a voice.
Fluttershy looked behind her to see Scootaloo gazing at her in awe.
“That was so cool!” said the filly.
“Scootaloo! I told you to not-” began Fluttershy.
The Cockatrice hissed and swung its tail again. Fluttershy was smacked across the face, the sunglasses flying off of her. The glasses sailed through the air before shattering against a tree trunk.
“Fluttershy!” gasped Scootaloo, gazing at the fallen pegasus. She rushed forward and began shaking her. “Get up!”
The Cockatrice hissed menacingly as it strode forward. It wrapped its tail around Scootaloo’s head and forced her to look up.
Scootaloo shut her eyes quickly. The Cockatrice squeezed her head tightly. It brought its face close to hers and hissed.
Scootaloo whimpered in pain and fear as she felt the monster’s breath on her face. She cracked an eye open and she found herself face-to-face with the monster. She gasped as she lost feeling in her legs. She glanced down to see her body turning to stone.
The Cockatrice’s eyes narrowed as the filly’s body continued to petrify. It wouldn’t be long before she was completely turned to stone.
A yellow hoof shot out and slammed against the monster’s face.
The Cockatrice fell to the ground, letting go off Scootaloo. The orange filly, the lower half of her body petrified, fell to the grass. She glanced up, seeing Fluttershy stomp towards the downed monster.
“Are you fucking kidding me?!” she screamed. “First you turn one of my friends to stone, then my chicken, then two of the girls I was watching, and now the other girl I was watching?! What kind of sick, demented bastard does that?”
The Cockatrice glared at Fluttershy, its eyes glowing yellow. Scootaloo gasped as Fluttershy’s legs started turning to stone.
Fluttershy scoffed and punched the Cockatrice in the face. “You think that fucking scares me?! That you can look at me and I’ll be petrified? Do you think that I give a fuck?!” She punched it again.
The Cockatrice hissed and prepared to finish turning the pony to stone. But as it looked into Fluttershy’s eyes to finish the job, it froze in terror. The pony’s eyes were changing. Her pupils were expanding, turning her eyes completely black. The glow in the Cockatrice’s eyes disappeared, and they widened in terror.
Fluttershy raised a hoof and pressed it down on the monster’s throat. “I should kill you,” she growled. “But I’m guessing you can turn everyone back to normal, correct?”
The Cockatrice nodded fearfully.
“Do it,” growled Fluttershy, putting more pressure on the monster’s throat.
The Cockatrice choked. Its eyes flashed red.
Scootaloo gasped as the stone on her lower body shattered, freeing her. She watched as the stone on Fluttershy’s body shattered as well.
“Did you free everyone?” growled Fluttershy.
The Cockatrice quickly nodded.
“Everyone?!” growled Fluttershy, putting more pressure on its throat.
The monster had tears running down its face. It nodded faster than before.
“And you’re never going to do this again, right?!” asked Fluttershy.
The Cockatrice shook its head.
Fluttershy took her foot off its throat. “Good. Now get the fuck out of here.”
The monster did not need telling twice. It quickly got up and scurried away, leaving Fluttershy and Scootaloo alone.
Fluttershy blinked, her eyes turning back to their usual color. She looked at Scootaloo and asked, “Are you alright?”
“Y-yeah…” said Scootaloo. “What did you do?”
“I call it the Stare,” explained Fluttershy. “I use it on my more rowdy animals. Maybe I should start using it on my more rowdy houseguests.” She looked pointedly at Scootaloo.
Scootaloo laughed nervously. “There’s no need for that!” She frowned and looked at the ground. “I’m sorry for what I’ve done. I promise I’ll be good for the rest of this sleepover.”
Fluttershy smiled and walked over to Scootaloo. “Don’t worry about it. Everyone should be back to normal by now. No harm no…fowl!” She grinned at Scootaloo.
“…What?” asked Scootaloo.
“Never mind,” grumbled Fluttershy. “I’m leaving the jokes to Pinkie.” She looked over at the broken glasses. “Sorry about your sunglasses by the way. I’ll get you some new ones tomorrow, ok?”
“Don’t worry about it,” said Scootaloo. She opened her leather jacket and pulled out another pair of sunglasses. She put them on and said, “I’ve got like, a thousand of these things, it’s no big deal.”
Fluttershy stared at her. “…And you didn’t put on another pair earlier because…?”
“…I forgot?” said Scootaloo sheepishly.
Fluttershy sighed. “Let’s just get the others and get the hell out of here.”
A few minutes later:
“I was blind?!” shrieked Sweetie Belle. “Why didn’t anyone say anything?!”
Scootaloo stared at Apple Bloom, who was scratching her nose with gusto. “Um, are you ok?”
Apple Bloom paused in her scratching. “Ah’ve had to scratch mah nose since Ah got turned into stone. Let me have this.” She went back to her scratching.
They were back in the clearing with the others, who were shaking off the effects of being petrified.
Twilight winced as she looked at the bag of tea in her hooves. “I’m never drinking this shit again,” she proclaimed. She threw it into the forest. “It’s good, but it’s not worth getting turned to stone over.” She turned and smiled at Fluttershy. “I can’t believe you managed to deal with three monsters.”
“Three?” asked Fluttershy. She turned away from Elizabeak and looked at Twilight. “I only beat one Cockatrice.”
“Not that,” said Twilight, “I was talking about the kids. But yeah, good job with the Cockatrice.” She frowned. “But I’m not sure about you scaring it away. What if it comes back?”
Meanwhile:
The Cockatrice stumbled into the forest clearing, panting harshly. It turned and hissed at the forest behind it, silently cursing the yellow pony it had encountered within.
“Excuse me, dear fellow,” said an upper-crust accent.
The Cockatrice turned.
Manny the Manticore was standing in front of the Cockatrice. Packs of Timberwolves surrounded him and growled at the Cockatrice.
“You seem to be a bit confused,” said Manny. He grinned, showing his fangs. “This is our forest. You aren’t welcome here.”
The Cockatrice had enough time to gulp before the Timberwolves charged him, their fangs bared.