Visits and Contemplation (Chapter 2)
The sky was almost pitch black when the group reached the edge of the forest. The trail had been less apparent than in its initial presentation. Instead of stretching out ahead of them like a custom tailored road, random splits and branches had ended in dead ends, and winding pathways sprung up at odd intervals. There was also the factor of speed – though they had walked briskly, Fluttershy’s initial venture into the forest had been a flight at top speed, with Angel running behind her – a pace they were unable to match now, exhausted from the fatigue of their encounter at the forest’s depth.
The moon was overhead to greet the trio as they emerged from the final overhang of crooked trees, illuminating the ground in a bath of silver light. Angel and Fluttershy breathed a collective sigh of relief as the cottage crested at the height of the horizon – finally, to be back home.
“I hope I never have to set hoof in that awful forest again as long as I live.”
Hyperbole aside, Angel nodded at Fluttershy’s exclamation. Though he had made his way into the forest times previous, today’s expedition left a sour taste in his mouth, and the sooner he could write off such an encounter in the future, the better.
The soft thump of hoofsteps and tiny rabbit feet was the only sound as the group made its way back to the cottage. As they reached the edge of Fluttershy’s house and grounds, the rhythmic tapping of their steps was punctuated by a shrill creaking, like the swinging of a rusted door hinge left open.
Fluttershy’s brow furrowed with concern.
“Angel, did you hear that?”
The bunny nodded in response. Sir Roostington, meanwhile, said nothing, having drifted off a long time ago as he was carried out of the forest.
“It sounds like it’s coming from the chicken coop…”
Did I leave the door open when I left in such a hurry? The thought was an auspicious one – Fluttershy dearly hoped that her stock of feathery friends were well in place. She couldn’t imagine anything worse than another venture into the forest to search for them.
Fluttershy walked slowly to the source of the emanating creak, the wooden frame of the tiny chicken house glowing silver in the moonlight. She saw it immediately, one of the side doors swinging open. She saw something else as well, a tuft of feathers at the edge of the coop, and a scuffled patch of ground, like dirt that had been tossed up by a large or rowdy visitor.
Her mouth fell open when her gaze followed the stray feathers outward.
All of them – every single chicken she had left behind in her pursuit of their errant member – lay dead on the ground. Their bodies were whole, but badly damaged – necks had been slit, bodies punctured, as if by a furiously wielded knife. Amidst the scattered corpses, blood was everywhere, painting the ground in the lunar glow, a canvas of crimson shining silver. Angel, normally the sturdiest of constitutions, turned his sight immediately upon witnessing the grisly scene, and was loudly sick into a patch of nearby grass. One dead chicken had been something, but this was beyond horrifying…
There were no words. Everything that had happened that day – the terrifying trek into the forest, the frightening encounter with the mysterious runes, Sir Roostington’s death and subsequent unexplained return – it had all been too much. There was nothing left in her reserve of emotions left for what Fluttershy saw now. She felt her eyes water and her throat dry, but nothing further. No tears, and no anguished cries. Instead, her legs buckled, sending her down to the slightly damp evening grass, drops of dew meeting only feet away with patch of bright red vitae sprayed across the ground.
Behind, the rusted door creaked loudly.
To say that Fluttershy collected herself would be in error – the response to such a sight could in no way tempered by any resultant composure – but she did, after a short while, stand again, Sir Roostington still sleeping soundly nestled safely in her wings. Blankly, her eyes surveyed the extent of the carnage.
She remembered the voice.
Unsure, but with little recourse otherwise, she shakily raised a hoof upward, pointing it in the general direction of the bodies scattered about in front of her. The tiniest whisper of a breeze picked up in the distance.
What was it the voice had said again?
As if on cue, the eldritch hiss prickled her ears with its answer.
What you must learn today… is that death is not the conclusion to existence. It is merely an inconvenience…
Fluttershy gulped, and closed her eyes, hoof still extended.
She didn’t understand any of this - not what had happened in that runic stone circle in the darkest reaches of the Everfree, nor the raspy voice in her head with no proper source. But she remembered the feeling that had enveloped her after the last time it spoke, before she had opened her eyes and seen Sir Roostington standing in front of her, whole and healthy. A kind of all encompassing swell of energy, that had sent tingles up her spine and made her feel… safe, somehow. Not safe in the normal fashion, sheltered by sturdy structures or strong friends nearby to protect her, but safe on her own. As though she could temper one of the many elements in life that had always seemed out of her control. So often others called her weak, or helpless, and she agree with their perception… but in that moment, ailed whispers at the back of her mind and some alien force directed at her projection, she had felt in control, for once.
She felt it again, and cracked her eyes to see so many shadowy tendrils reaching outward. They moved swiftly, the antithesis of the creeping lethargy of the voice that prompted their appearance – no, it was her, Fluttershy, who had done that. And she was doing it now. As if guided by intuition, she closed her eyes again, and heard the swish of a passing breeze, followed by the faintest of sizzling sounds. Her eyes opened again.
Seven chickens pecked idly at the grass in front of her, ambling about nonchalantly.
Fluttershy sighed loudly. Relief would be the wrong word… this felt different, much more tangible than relief. Relief implied gratitude at the benevolence of the universe to guide circumstance in a direction to her benefit, leading her to grovel at the kindness of fate to spare her from something more gruesome. This was much different. This was… inspiration. Empowerment. This felt much better.
Fluttershy grinned, in spite of herself, her smile brightened under the silver beam of the moon above.
“Angel, are you okay?” She turned back towards the moments ago distraught bunny, hoping quietly to herself that he had remained concerned with his disgust.
Instead, she found him staring blankly forward past her, eyes wide again as he watched the flock of chickens bandy about.
“Umm…” Fluttershy hummed quietly, unsure of what to say. Angel turned his head to look back at her, his expression saying more than could be put into words. Fluttershy answered his incredulous gaze with a quiet mumble.
“I don’t know… I don’t understand it either, Angel. But… but it can’t be a bad thing! Everyone’s okay now, Sir Roostington too…”
Angel cocked his head, apparently not as eager to acquiesce to Fluttershy’s acceptance of the situation.
“I know, it’s strange… I think it must have happened because of that big explosion in the, um, forest.”
A moment passed in silence. Angel’s glare remained incredulous.
“It feels like some kind of magic! I don’t know what else to say, Angel… I’m confused too. What if…”
The severity of the situation was beginning to take its toll on Fluttershy’s attitude. She had felt so sure moments ago, enraptured in the solution that arose at her command – but now, facing someone else, and explaining how she had circumvented the finality of death… she felt afraid again. What if the strange force at her command was something evil, or monstrous? She had never heard of any magic with that kind of power before, not even in all her conversations with Twilight, the most studious disciple of magic there was. Besides which, magic was the domain of unicorns, not pegasi – so why had she been able to conjure such a force with relative ease, bringing back a multitude of creatures back from the throes of their faded mortality?
A tear fell from Fluttershy’s cheek as the weight of her lack of understanding hit her.
“Oh, Angel… what if there’s something wrong with me? I don’t understand any of this…” Fluttershy forced her words through tearful cries, turning from confidence to fear in the blink of an eye. Though he was unsure of what to think given the things he had witnessed, Angel couldn’t stand idly by and leave his close friend in tears. He hopped over to Fluttershy as she wept, and let himself be picked up between her hooves, placing his tiny arms onto her body in a sympathetic embrace. Fluttershy’s hair fell forward as she leaned into the tearful hug, enveloping Angel in a wash of pink and black, though now decidedly more of the latter.
Sir Roostington’s clucking joined the rest of the chickens as he groggily awoke. The open door creaked amidst the sound of tears and contented chickens.
The morning of the day after Fluttershy’s journey into the heart of the Everfree, she enjoyed a moments peace upon awakening in the morning. The sun trickled lazily in through the glass window pane, illuminating motes of dust in the air as well as the interior of her bedroom. Fluttershy’s eyes parted groggily, and she gave a small smile as the warmth of the sun added to the already toasty comfort of her quilt.
The smile vanished when her bleary eyes glimpsed the several strands of her blackened hair that had draped themselves over her neck in her sleep, a very succinct reminder of everything that had happened the day prior. Immediately, the warmth seemed to drain from the room, the remembrance of the grim happenings and unpleasant changes that had taken place.
But still… she had convinced herself there was nothing further to worry about. Though the bizarre happenstance had sent her to bed tearful and miserable, every day could be taken one step at a time. Sir Roostington, along with the other chickens, was alive and well, and though she had no explanation for the mysterious magic channeling through her body, nor the source of its inception, all things could be investigated. A visit to Twilight and a calm relaxing day inside would make the future seem much brighter.
As Fluttershy roused herself from the last remnants of her slumber, stretching her limbs outward in an attempt to awaken her body for the day’s activities, her gaze fell naturally to the foot of the bed, where she found a pair of ears and glaring beady eyes staring back at her.
“Gah!”
Unprepared to find herself being watched as she awoke, Fluttershy grabbed the quilt and threw it over her head, shrouding herself in makeshift darkness. She curled into the still warmed blanket for a moment, shivering despite the heat, before a gentle tap at the corner of her impromptu fortress drew her attention. Timidly, she lifted a corner of the blanket and peeked outside. The same glaring face was waiting for her. This time, preparedness went a long way, and she gave out only a tiny ‘Eep!’, leaving the blanket pulled back.
“Angel, you scared me! What are you doing up here so early-“
The stern-looking rabbit answered the question before Fluttershy had finished asking it – silently, he held the source of his troubled expression aloft. Fluttershy shrunk back behind her hooves at the swiftness of Angel’s movement, before lifting her head up to see the cause for Angel’s early visit to her bedroom.
Sir Roostington clucked blithely at her from between Angel’s paws.
Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief. After the previous night’s grisly scene that greeted her return, she had expected something far worse – the sight of a peaceful tuft of pudgy feathers floating in front of her was far better.
Although… ‘pudgy’…
Angel shook the chicken in front of Fluttershy’s face insistently from his place standing on her bed. Now that she looked closer… Sir Roostington was not the bastion of contentment and portly poultry he was the day previous. Patches of feathers and down were missing from his coat, leaving empty spots. That, and he looked considerably thinner, almost gaunt, as though the stress of the previous day had taken a serious toll.
Fluttershy’s empathetic instinct immediately kicked in. Putting the ambient worries in her head aside for a moment, she reached out her hooves to grab the ailing fowl and grasped him tightly to her chest.
She held him there for a moment, then blinked oddly. Screwing her face up in confusion, she squeezed the chicken close again, holding him slightly askew from her initial embrace. Her brow furrowed, concern blanketing her face. Perplexed, she held Sir Roostington at foreleg’s length, scanning him over in puzzlement.
“Sir Roostington… you seem different. Are you feeling alright?”
The chicken gave no coherent response, not even a complacent cluck as Fluttershy studied him. He simply turned his head back and forth, focusing on seemingly random fixtures around the room.
Something was most certainly different. Normally, Fluttershy savoured nothing more than the warmth in her heart when she was close to her animals – a closeness that brought the strongest sense of comfort and kinship she had ever known. But the blankly staring chicken she had just hugged – his embrace had felt cold, and empty, nothing like the chubby squawking rooster she had cuddled close many times before. It was cause for concern.
As Fluttershy reached the end of her contemplation, her eyes fell downward to meet Angel’s gaze once more. His face was still the pervasive picture of grimness, brow furrowed and ears folded slightly downward. The connection to draw was evident, but Fluttershy was hesitant to do so.
“Angel, do you think… this has something to do with what happened yesterday?”
Even in the greatest depths of his patience, Angel could not restrain his sarcastic glare in answer to this question. He titled his head in the ultimate display of contempt at Fluttershy’s imminent obliviousness, as if to say “No, you think?”
Fluttershy immediately tucked her head close down, squeaking meekly
“Oh… I guess that was kind of a silly question..”
Angel rolled his eyes, and then gestured with one paw towards the frail figure of Sir Roostington ambling about on the bedspread. Fluttershy’s eyes followed the motion of his gesture, pointing deliberately, before pointing towards the wall, out one of the windows – in the direction of the Everfree forest. He pulled his paws together, then brought the outward fiercely, eyes wide, before holding one aloft, and tracing the other outward from its end. The mimicry was fairly spot on, really.
Fluttershy bit her lip meekly in response. A thousand words raced through her head, most of them an expression of disbelief that a day’s events could so vastly change one of her beloved animals so – but then, it hadn’t been simply a journey into the forest. Angel had specifically gestured… the dark emanation that blossomed from Fluttershy’s hoof as Sir Roostington was brought back from his… less composed state. She had done the same with the other chickens upon their return as well-
Her eyes immediately widened at the thought. “Angel, are the others – are they…”
Angel nodded grimly. Fluttershy’s hooves flew to her mouth, tiny dots of moisture brimming at the corners of her eyes.
“Oh, no…”
Several moments passed in silent contemplation, save the rustling of tiny chicken feet on the bedding and Fluttershy’s sniffles. After letting the flow of emotion pass, Fluttershy gathered herself, before standing from the bed, planting her hooves on the wooden floor with a thump. Sir Roostington ambled pointlessly on one of the pillows. He had always been a tad distracted, but now…
Fluttershy let out a long breath, before turning to Angel, who had followed her down from the bed, and was now looking up with concern.
“Angel… I don’t know what to do. I’m scared.”
Angel nodded sympathetically, before cringing, a look akin to somepony who had forgotten their school lunch at home or left a burner on before leaving the house. Timidly, he gestured with a paw up towards the ceiling. Fluttershy blinked at him, before turning her head upwards.
Spreading outwards from the center of the ceiling, and all throughout the upper half of the room, was a darkened skein of black tendrils, like vines or vegetation, but far more limp and sinewy. They hung eerily from the nooks and crannies of the cottage roof, spreading down the walls towards the floor.
Fluttershy gave a squeak of surprise, her head spinning back and forth in an attempt to assess the bizarre appearance of the supposed plant-life in front of her. It had most certainly not been there when she had fallen asleep, but now half the room was nearly covered in it.
“Ohmigoodness, no! Angel, what is going on?”
Fluttershy’s question was more rhetorical than anything. She turned to and fro in a continued examination of the alien growth above her, flapping her wings in distress as she did so. Angel could only sigh, and look towards her sympathetically. Perhaps it would have been best if he had never pointed the strange development in the first place.
She could feel her final grasp of reason failing.
“I don’t know what to do!”
She screamed the sentence to the world in general, causing Angel to shield his ears at the unprecedented volume. He could count on one paw the number of times he remembered Fluttershy raising her voice – but, if any occasion called for such a thing, this was indeed one of them. Once more over such a short span of time, he found himself next to the kneeling Pegasus, patting her side sympathetically as she wept. Bizarre changes, worrisome goings on, all secondary conduits for the feeling that overwhelmed her. That loss of control, the sense of being powerless – she had grown accustomed to it over the years, and yet still hated it more than anything. Maybe now, the feeling was additionally frustrating, because she had been so close to breaking free from the shackles of her own lack of control.
After minutes, Fluttershy collected herself. She drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly as she stood, closing her eyes in an act of focus.
“Ooookay.” She drew the vowel syllable out, letting out another long breath as she spoke, before turning to Angel.
“Okay. Angel, we can do this. We don’t have to worry… everything’s going to be fine.”
Angel tilted his head sympathetically. More than anything, he would like to believe that was the case – but though his faith in his gentle friend was unwavering, he felt that the situation at hand might just be out of her grasp to handle. As long as she needed his support, however… he would be there.
“First thing’s first. We have to keep to ourselves for a bit. I don’t want anypony seeing me… like this.” Fluttershy cast her eyes to an errant stranded of blackened hair, before returning to her manifesto.
“Next, I’m going to make sure I don’t do any more of… whatever it was that I did. I don’t understand it, and… even though it made all the animals better, then this started happening… so no more… whatever!”
Angel nodded enthusiastically before Fluttershy continued.
“And… if we wait for a few days, and things don’t get better, I’ll need you to talk to Twilight for me, okay? Whatever happened in the forest… it seemed to be some kind of magic, and nopony knows more about magic than Twilight Sparkle. Can you promise me you’ll do that?”
Angel nodded again, throwing his paw to his forehead in a mock salute.
“Good. So… now we just have to wait. Keep these weird things in check,” she said as a yellow hoof gestured at the vines hanging from the ceiling “and watch the other animals, to make sure they’re okay.”
And so the plan was set in motion. Fluttershy was taunted regularly for her meekness – but it could not be said that in a time of crisis, she knew how to come through. All that was left now was to hope that the plan of observation and inaction proved fruitful.
In tone with the day previous, however, life had its share of snags in store.
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Intriguing!
Unconscious manifestations of her powers indicate lack of control, which is admittedly obvious. Her dreams must have been poignant to cause all that though.
Keep it up! I want moar! :D
Oh, and first.
i want one (zombie chicken)
FEAR THE ZOMBIE CHICKEN
I wonder what the eggs look like......
Oh well. on with this delicious bit of insanity!
I was watching this and now I think I shall read it
Delightful! Fluttershy corrupted by darkness... the irony is beautiful.
Woo, beware Fluttershy's army of the undead!
What the...
This is the oddest concept I've seen so far :3
Maybe except that fic that shipped Dash with the concept of shipping... But it's close.
Since I find liches really cool, I need to read this... xD
Hmm. Aren't liches supposed to be dead?
Now lets see... A lich, according to wikipedia, is the result when someone binds their intellect to a corpse, thereby gaining immortality. They also have a phylactery. From this, I can conclude that either will Fluttershy become more and more undead as time passes (which still doesn't solve the phylactery problem), or that she isn't a lich; just a host-body for this mysterious voice in her head.
Now... First of all; thank you for making Fluttershy take contact with Twi through Angel. I get so annoyed when characters in these kind of situations stupidly decide to just hide, thinking it'll go away.
Secondly; at first, I thought the reanimation (which I hope you let us see how works at some point; not just off-scene because Fluttershy closes her eyes) should have resulted in a more "classical" undead, with the thinness, coldness, loss of hair (or in this case, feathers), etc... But then I realized your plan, which is much more logical, given that the body used for the spell was "fresh".
All in all, interesting concept indeed. I'm not sure I would've executed it the same way myself, but I'm still more than curious to see how this continues :3
liches definetly are my favorite mythological... thing. I especially love the one in adventure time. I would love to see more of them in the future in anything. Cant wait for the new chapter! and as mr krabs would say, MOAR!
I want to read this story, just so I can hate it... so this is what it feels like to be the internet.
I was taken aback by the Dark/tragedy tags, but seeing that the dark tragedy is impossible to ignore with the central argument being necromancy, and taking account that fluttershy is still fluttershy, and not a wretched-evil-bloodlusted-meany, Ithink I will track this one...
As soon as I finished watching SHED.MOV, I thought, "Oh yeah, Fluttershy is TOTALLY a necromancer!". So you can imagine my delight when I see this story posted here!
Just remember kids; liches sound like leaches which are bad! Not to mention lynching! Which is also bad!
Reminds me of the 8-bit game curse of the blank or something along those lines....nicely done though
Hmm, very interesting idea indeed! Your style is vivid and descriptive, to say the least, and you are keeping Fluttershy and Angel's characters well within the realms of believability. For that, well done! I await further updates eagerly!
This oughta be good. I'm curious in wondering just how Fluttershy's evil manifests, if at all it does become evil. Misguided perhaps? The feeling that she's right and others are wrong? Or corruption via the evil presence... voices in her head? visions, a la Jack Nicholson in the Shining? WE SHALL SEE.
312535 Was that a Minecraft reference?
I need MOAR!
wow, this is sure different then what i am used to reading, but it was a refreshing change, albeit creepy, but refreshing none the less.
i really enjoyed this, tracking and eagerly awaiting more!
lol this is awsome weird undead lordess fluttershy of darkness will have your soul!!! if that is okay with you.
this is so awesome i know i shouldernt laugh but i did when you called the rooster sir roostington but either way gotta love necromancers xD i recon you should have a final battle between necroshy and angel xd
Please, do continue this. If I don't see the end of this story... well I'll be disappointed.
Fluttermancer!?
DIS GON BE GUD!
I feel this is appropriate:
43. The more beautiful and pure a thing is - the more satisfying it is to corrupt. - Rules of the Internet
Great story so far, tracking/watching for more!
ONLY ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE: AWESOME !
Anything to do with Fluttershy becoming a badass is okay in my book!!!!
Great fic... Nice and scary.
My only complaint is this: Why is it that all of these kinds of stories seem to center on "Fluttershy becomes a horrible monster"? It's irritatingly predictable.
Anyway, this fic gets my thumbs up regardless. Great fic. I liked the zombie chickens particularly... But who (or what) killed them? That's what I'd like to know... Is there some kind of serial chicken-murderer on the loose? xD
i1.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/006/151/tumblr_lltzgnHi5F1qzib3wo1_400.jpg
*Instant dislike.*
What the hell is up with all these gorefics of ponies becoming insane or dark and just killing shit or torturing stuff?
Very enjoyable. Looking forward to more.
Oh ya, and you kind of repeated a few words too much, like errant.
Fluttershys undead army of (chickens?)
319518
>looks at user page
>tons of shipping and romance fics tracked
What the hell is up with all these clopfics of ponies falling in love or having sex or just fucking other ponies or clopping?
"each day darker than the next. "
By that wording, it means the days are getting progressively lighter. You want:
"Each day darker than the last."
Flutterhys indestructable, MASTER OF WAR
For some reason, i feel like we need a cleric.
304588
For some reason when i read that all i heard was this.
BURN IN HELL
Skip to 1:50 to hear what i mean.
media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lunilmVkim1qfjwa0.png
Cheers
~iraqlobstah
319518
500memes.com/plog-content/images/meme/futurama-fry/not-sure-if-trolling-or-just-stupid.jpg
As a former troll, I have no doubt that it's both.
ZOMBIE CHIKENS
316189 Although, now that I think about it, she still lacks the main qualities of a liche. One, her soul isnt bound to an object. two, she isnt rotting. shes changing, but not rotting. And three, she isnt completly evil. Im sure things are gonna change but I thought I should put that out there.
319518 O look, we've got a retard around here.
319814 Any approximate date of the new chapter?
Why do I get the feeling that when Twilight finds out what's happened to Fluttershy she's going to react like Ray Stantz from Ghostbusters reacts whenever something scary happens to his friends?
Fluttershy: Twilight, help me! I've become an undead abomination!
Twilight: That's great! Um, I mean, that's greatly problematic. But if you want me to help you, you;re going to have to tell me everything, and I mean everything!
323162 apparently not all liches are evil (At least according to this wiki page on liches from D&D).
331316 That is true, but it also says it cant be forced upon an individual.
331793 no but the individual can be tricked into becoming one. there's this anime called puella magi madoka magica where the "cute mascot" character holds back vital information order to trick girls into becoming lich like beings in exchange for granting wishes. but yea here fluttershy is just a necromancer and possessed unless one thinks of the evil force as being the real lich and fluttershy being the soul jar if the author didn't just simply confuse the two terms on accident just to make a catchy title to this story. flutterlich does sound better than necroshy. and fluttermancer would just be too vague due to other mancies like the ever popular geomancy, and with (your element or schooling here)mancy.
'but the strands of black and pink remained',
Shouldn't it be 'but the strands of black and red remained?'
I love this story. Please continue.
334210 maybe a darker pink?
I gather we're going for a "power corrupts" moral woven into the story.
I was wrong. No rainbows, just butterflies.
And I do not have a good feeling about this "wait a few days to talk to Twilight in the hope that it all just blows over" plan. Not even remotely.
My thoughts when I read this;
Was: WRONG!!!
You need to get to Twilight's place ASAP and start figuring out what this is before something else happens.
What will probably happen if she goes to Twilight any other time than NOW!:
but since you didn't come here you will forever have to live with the deaths of those you were supposed to protect on your shoulders...
Twilight: I'm sorry Fluttershy but if you had simply come her as soon as you could I would have been able to stabilize the condition of your animals and fixed up your home...
ALL because of you caring more about YOUR HAIR then YOUR FAMILY!
Thank Celestia that you know how to reason and prioritize properly, Fluttershy.
EDIT: I have now read through the entire chapter and even though I liked the beginning and the middle you failing logic at the end has prevented me from reading this story any further.