A demon from Bunny's past has come back for Fluttershy, as well as an old "scar". Can she enlist Twilight to stop destruction across Equestria, or will it all end up like how she saw it the last time?
As Twilight struggles with mixed emotions and Pinkie thinking she loves her, Bunny must stop a demon of her past from consuming Fluttershy. And not just any demon, but one that feeds off the love of one who was meant for another. Bunny, still shaken from a past lost, at first refuses. But when she discovers that if the demon is not stopped, it will cause the destruction of Equestria, she has no choice. Can she enlist Twilight and the gang to help her and stop the catastrophe?
P.S. We put rated Teen due to Exorcism and demons, just in case Also, it's based on the cancelled "Everypony Loves Twilight" by Hankyhannah. We decided to give it another chance.
“C’mon, Shy! We gotta go!” an annoyed Bunny kept tugging on her Mistress’ tail in an attempt to make her walk to Twilight’s.
“No, Bunny”
“WHAT?!”
“I said no”
“You’re…coming…with…me!” Bunny tugged on her tail even harder.
“No…I’m…not!” Fluttershy dragged her tail up with her apprentice still on it, twirled it, and eventually dizzied Bunny enough to let go. The alien fell on the ground. Still persistent, she was about to pounce until her ears perked up at a sound.
“Oh, what now, old girl?”
“Do you hear what I hear?”
“Like what?”
“Sounds like…Twilight screaming!”
That caught Fluttershy’s attention. “Where?!”
Bunny closed her eyes, concentrating to where the source of the sound may be. She listened intently until eventually, her ears pointed to the direction of the screams. “That way”
Fluttershy turned her head to the direction, and there she saw, Twilight and Rainbow Dash were falling down and screaming for their lives.
“I’ll get Rainbow, you save Twilight” Bunny said as they took to the air.
“Bu…Bunny, how will you…?” Fluttershy was about to finish her sentence, but her apprentice already morphed into a Pegasus. She didn’t look like any other Pegasus she had seen before. No, she looked like how she could look if she wasn’t an alien. She looked like a filly, but her coat was entirely orange. She had spots of bolder orange on the ends of her front hooves, and her tail and mane were all bold orange. Her eyes were still the same cerulean color, but she had her diamond spot on her forehead. And she had no cutie mark.
Twilight screamed at the top of her lungs, at least until she felt something hold her. When she opened her eyes, she saw it was Fluttershy. Bunny managed to catch Rainbow just in time too.
“Oh, that’s just Bunny. She learned to morph into a Pegasus”
That’s when Rainbow noticed. “Woah! That’s cool, Bun! You can even fly. Thanks for saving me”
“Don’t mention it, but now we have to get you to Ponyville Hospital”
All three nodded in response. Fluttershy flew with Twilight, while Bunny carried Rainbow Dash. Right as soon as she went to the operating room, Bunny morphed back to her original form, breathing heavily. Rainbow was really heavy! Fluttershy and Twilight waited outside for their friend. Twilight tried to assure her friend that her foalhood friend would be alright. But Fluttershy, being the most fragile, was worried throughout the entire time. At last, the door opened and Rainbow came out, a cast across one of her wings. “The Doctor said it was just a sprain, in a week I’ll be able to fly again without spraining it again”
“Thank goodness” Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief.
“At least everything will be fine now”
Bunny was about to nod, but then her right hind leg turned dull red. She knew what that meant. Before she could even react, her eyes glowed white, she inhaled, and chanted. “Nobra timu nora les timalus soverano nonso lovitus confirmus Mane Sixa curato sono bitino nasa wikot fallus Love Pioson doble Sweetie Belle trinu Twilight para datus Rarity. Oncu Kibo Suru fantus, sneeza.” She said all this and fainted.
“Bunny? Bunny?!” Fluttershy shook her friend, but there was no response. “I have to get her back home”
“She saw another vision? What’s happening to that Servant?” Rainbow asked.
Twilight was about to agree and say she was about to leave too, but that’s when she noticed something on Fluttershy’s hooves: Bruises. “Hang on, what happened to your hooves?”
Fluttershy looked at Twilight as she put Bunny in her saddlebag. “Oh, these? I don’t know, I just wake up every morning and they would just appear and disappear throughout my body. I even once had one on my left cheek. Is it still there?” She pulled her mane away from her face to show.
Twilight gasped at the mark. “Yes, it’s all over your cheek”
Fluttershy covered her bruised cheek with her mane again. “Well, I’m just gonna go home now”
Twilight shook her head and stopped her friend. “Hang on, I’m coming with you”
“No, Twilight, it’s okay. My apprentice just fainted from a vision, it’s not like I’m gonna pass out too”
She took a few steps in an attempt to prove it, but she suddenly felt quite queasy. She held her head in response, but was about to collapse. Luckily, Twilight managed to catch her with her magic before she actually passed out. Fluttershy thanked Twilight when she got back on her hooves.
“See? You’re in no condition to go it alone for now”
“But what about your playdate with Rarity? Or your date with Pinkie?”
“It could wait another day. Wait! How did you know that?”
Fluttershy pointed to Bunny. “She flies around as a canary and stops by every now and then to check on all of us, remember?”
“Yep, that’s our Bunny. Rainbow, we’re gonna go ahead, okay?”
Rainbow faked a smile. “Yeah yeah. Go ahead”
Just then, Bunny popped out, looking like she was having a vision again. “Savieto sabrine Rainbow Dash”. And she plopped back down, fainted again. Without another second’s waste, all three ponies ran in their own directions.
Along the way, Fluttershy and Twilight ran into Rarity, she had Opal with her. “Oh! Hello, Twilight!” she greeted but her smile was short-lived when she noticed her best friend was with the lavender mare. “What’s she doing here?”
Twilight spoke as Fluttershy cringed down. “We ran into each other, she saved me from falling from the sky while Bunny saved Rainbow with the wing sprain. We got Dash to the hospital, when she came out, Bunny had a vision and fainted. Then I noticed there were bruise marks on Fluttershy’s body, she nearly collapsed, so I decided to tag along to make sure she would be awake when we get her home.”
“I see. Fluttershy saved you?”
Twilight nodded. “She did. Can we have our playdate some other time? I’m really sorry, but I don’t want two of my friends to faint on the same day”
“I understand” Rarity smiled, but deep down she felt jealousy. Was her best friend really trying to get Twilight? What if her apprentice just faked fainting? Did she pretend to fall so that Twilight would catch her? A million thoughts raced in her head. Just then, Bunny popped out again and did the same thing, except for a minor change in her chanting. “Saviento sabrine Rarity” And yes, she fainted again. At least now, the marshmallow Unicorn was convinced her alien friend wasn’t faking. Bunny wasn’t even a drama queen!
“We better hurry! Since when did she get multiple visions all at once without breaking?” Twilight asked as she put Bunny back in the bag.
Then she and the alien’s Mistress ran off after bidding Rarity goodbye.
When both were out of sight, the Unicorn turned to Opal. “What do you think? Who will win?”
“Twilight, take Bunny out of the bag” Fluttershy said when she and Twi got to her cottage. The yellow Pegasus rummaged through the drawers of her cabinet until she found what she was looking for. She picked up Bunny, and put what looked like a Baby’s Breath flower on her apprentice’s nose.
“This always works. If Bunny smells Baby’s Breath flowers any time after she faints from a Vision Pain, she will wake up immediately. It will also make her hyper again” Fluttershy explained. She was right. When Bunny smelled the flower, she sneezed on Twilight and woke up.
“Wh-what happened? Did I faint?”
“Pretty much. Sorry about that, Twilight”
“Whoops! So sorry!”
Twilight wiped her face with her hoof. “It’s alright, I didn’t know that you sneeze after smelling Baby’s Breath”
Bunny slightly smirked when she saw Twilight’s eyes glow slightly pink, and back to normal. She heard a foot stamp made by Angel, and decided to go talk to him. In the kitchen, Bunny used Translate on Angel to allow him to speak.
“You fainted, didn’t you?”
“Yep” Bunny slightly cringed.
“What vision?”
“Pretty much my suspicions are right. The sneeze contained the antidote because I put the last drops in the Baby’s Breath. Although, because Sweetie Belle put a second in the tea Twilight drank to make her love Rarity, it only removed the Rarity love, Pinkie’s is still in there.”
Angel face slapped. “Well, you got the other ingredients needed to cure ALL of them, right?”
“Yep” Right then, she heard the door close, and Fluttershy crying. “Duty calls” she closed her eyes and hung her head annoyed.
“I know, Shy, I know” said a worried Bunny as she let Fluttershy cry out on her back. The mare was sobbing since the day Pinkie told Twilight she loved her. Bunny, however, knew something else: the love was not genuine; it was inflicted by a Love Poison.
It was the remains of the one the Cutie Mark Crusaders made, found by Pinkie Pie, and (thinking it was jam) baked it into cupcakes and passed them out to Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Twilight, and Bunny. Bunny wasn’t affected by the spell because of her Love Immunity, but she was able to sense its effects on the others. Then, on the day Pinkie confessed her love to Twilight, her suspicions were confirmed. She also tried her best to ignore another feeling that there was something in Fluttershy. Since then, the alien started to look for a cure to save her friends, and she did.
After Fluttershy finally fell asleep, Bunny ran to secret room to undo the spell. On her desk was what she needed: the spell book, small jars of the tears of her affected friends, and a dove’s feather. She then started to chant:
“Pauca columba plenum remedium horum quatuor audito clamore et expediuntur”
As she chanted, the tears in the jars joined together as one, turned white, and were ready to use. She grabbed the Dove Feather, dipped it until it sucked up all the tears, blew on it, and let it become a live dove that flew off to the victims.
Her work done, and obviously tired from doing the spell, Bunny went to her bed and slept. The alien smirked; she knew her reverse spell will work. And it did.
The dove flew to Ponyville Square, turned to ashes, and the ashes went and cured her friends. It also helped them gain their lost memories under the Love Poison’s influence. In Twilight, she saw and felt something else. But it can’t have been a side effect from the Curing Spell, it only shows the cures, shows the truth, and opens up all lost memories.
Bunny expected that anytime right now, and Fluttershy is gonna wake her up with a sobbing cry, as always. Ever since the day “Twinky”, as she calls it, happened, Bunny couldn’t sleep fully anymore. Her eyelids were getting slightly darker, she and the other animals were feeling woozy, and they had a tendency to sleep with their eyes wide open. But it didn’t happen that day. They all finally slept peacefully and undisturbed.
Bunny woke up well-rested, yet confused why. She looked at her mistress, who was still fast asleep. Not wanting to stick around for longer, she headed downstairs to feed Angel and the other animals. Angel was rather confused, he gestured Bunny that he could talk, so she nodded and used Translate.
“Why isn’t she still awake?” he asked.
“I don’t know, it’s just not like her these days”
“Do you think she finally moved on?” he smiled.
“Can’t have. Fluttershy is the most delicate pony I ever met, maybe she’s just so tired that she ended up sleeping like a filly” Bunny giggled. Fluttershy finally came downstairs after a minute. But she looked rather pale, sick, had eyebugs, and was practically wobbly on her hooves. The only everyday feature was the sad and empty look on her face. Nonetheless, Bunny gestured her boss to eat.
Fluttershy barely touched her food, she would always act like this in the morning. “C’mon, Fluttershy. You gotta eat something, you’re as pale as a ghost” Bunny said with her concerned look.
“If only I told her earlier, Bunny. She could’ve been mine”
Bunny had to do, or say, something. She went right in front of Fluttershy. “Okay, how about this: after breakfast, let’s go visit Twilight and act like a good friend, you’ve been distant to almost everypony these days”
“Okay!” the mare said and started to eat right away.
“That was fast” she said to Angel. The rabbit gestured that they go up. “Shy, me and Angel are just gonna go up and fix the beds right now, back in a bit” the alien said as she and her friend went up.
Bunny used her paws to fix the beds as she and Angel talked. “What’s wrong with her?” he asked.
His friend sighed. “I don’t know, Angel. But, these days, I keep smelling something’s on her”
“Why? What do you smell?”
“It’s hard to describe. It smells…Demonic”
He stared at Bunny with wide, open eyes. “Demonic? Why? And how do you know if it’s demonic?”
“Because I smelled it before, on somepony who didn’t survive the exorcism” Bunny looked down sadly recalling the moment. The beds were now finally fixed. Angel went near the alien, put a paw over her shoulder, and said “I’m sorry for your loss. But if it really is what’s happening around my owner, don’t fail to save her.”
Bunny nodded, wiped a tear off, and thanked Angel. Her leash ready, she went out with Fluttershy to meet with the root of the mare’s sorrow.
________________________________________
Bunny’s Curing Spell had already taken affect while the victims were asleep. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity woke up feeling normal. Twilight, however, was confused. When she woke up, she wasn’t feeling right. She was feeling upset about hurting Pinkie’s feelings if she told the truth, but felt something else for Fluttershy.
“What’s wrong, Twilight?” Spike asked.
“I don’t know, Spike. I’ve got these weird thoughts coming in my head. It’s like I’m feeling something for…” at that moment, Twilight heard a knock on the door.
“Oh! Hi Fluttershy! Hello, Bunny! What brings you both by?” the Alicorn greeted when she opened the door to a yellow Pegasus and an orange rabbit-like alien. Spike, on the other hoof, was excited when he heard the name of the alien.
“Hello, Twilight. Me and Bunny just decided to come and visit you today.” Fluttershy said, looking down and dragging a hoof on the ground.
“How nice of you! Come on in!” Twilight smiled and gestured for them to enter.
Spike greeted Bunny when she entered the library.” Bunny!”
“Spikey!” Bunny greeted back at the baby dragon.
“Grr!” Spike faked a growl. “Rawr!” Bunny faked a roar. They laughed after doing their signature greetings.
“Bunny, what’s up? What are you and Fluttershy doing here out of the bloom?” he asked with a smile, quite happy to finally see his friend again after such a long time.
“Nothing much, Spike. Fluttershy and I just wanted to say hello” she looked down while speaking.
Spike couldn’t help but wonder why Bunny was acting upset. “Hey, what’s wrong?”.
“Fluttershy’s acting strange today. I’m worried for her”
“Worried? Why?”
“She’s barely getting enough sleep these days, she’s barely eating, and she can’t stop crying.”
“Well, now that you mention it, she does look rather sick today”
Bunny nodded, looking down.
“Hey, Bunny, your right hind paw’s glowing” Spike said, pointing.
Bunny felt her ears move on their own and pointing to Twilight. The alien stared at the color for a few seconds, and gasped.
“What’s wrong?” Spike asked.
“Spike, it’s magenta!” Bunny responded.
The baby dragon knew what that meant. “Magenta?! On Twilight?! Bunny, are you saying she’s?”
“Positive, my Alien Sense is never wrong. Just listen to them”. So they did.
Twilight was worried about the Pegasus. “Say, are you okay, Fluttershy? Do you want something to drink?”.
“No thank you, Twilight. I’m okay”
At that moment, Bunny’s right hind paw stopped glowing, but then her diamond stripe glowed yellow.
“Are you sure? You’re as pale as a ghost. And as cold as death! What’s happened to you?” she exclaimed when she felt her friend’s hoof.
“I’m fine, Twilight” she yawned. “Just didn’t get enough sleep these days”
“Um. Okay, are you sure you’re oka-“ but at that moment, Fluttershy fainted. Bunny’s diamond stripe went back to normal, but after a second her right hind leg turned magenta again.
“Fluttershy!” Twilight shouted, hurrying to the unconscious mare. “What’s wrong with her?”
Bunny ran to her mistress, took her pulse and said “She just fainted. Spike, get some pneumonia. Twilight, lay Fluttershy on her back.” Spike ran off to get what was needed, Twilight (quite confused) turned Fluttershy on her back, and Bunny rummaged through her medicine bag to grab a few herbs, a motar, and a pestle.
“Bunny, what are those things?” Twilight asked.
“The Lagundi I’m pounding with the Baby’s Breath Flowers are revivers that I can add to the pneumonia to wake Fluttershy up. When completely mixed together, I’ll pour them into a spray, spray it on her nose once, she’ll wake up” Bunny replied as she continued on with her pounding.
“I just hope she’s okay” Twilight looked at the Pegasus, wondering what she may be seeing in there.
________________________________________
In Fluttershy’s mind…
Fluttershy woke up in what looked like an empty, dark void. Rather confused, she looked around scared and wondering. She was sure she was just dreaming at first, but after realizing her apprentice was not by her side she knew it must be something else.
“Hello? Twilight? Bunny? Spike?” she called out, but all she heard were the echoes of her own voice. Atleast, until she heard hoofsteps. She turned around and saw a figure. The figure looked to be a pony, but quite different. It had skin as white as snow, a mane and tail that was red and black. It’s eyes were black and blood poured out of them.
“Who…who are you?” she was slowly backing away.
The figure moved closer. “I am the Love Demon” was what it said.
“Lo-love d-d-demon?! What do you mean?”
“I’m that darkness waiting inside you, but now I have enough power to take control of you”
Fluttershy cringed low with small pupils. Even more scared when it mentioned “And don’t worry, I’ll take good care of your precious Twilight”. The demon turned into a black mist, circled around Fluttershy, eventually nearly eating her soul. But in the nick of time, a white light lead Fluttershy out of the void, and back to reality.
________________________________________
Fluttershy woke up with a sneeze after Bunny sprayed the reviver on her nose. The Pegasus was shaken up, still pale. “What…what happened?”. Twilight ran to Fluttershy, and hugged her. Both were blushing slightly in the process.
“You fainted. Again” Bunny facepawed at the last word.
“Again? What do you mean ‘again’, Bunny?” Twilight questioned the alien as she let go of Fluttershy.
“Oh, nothing much. Fluttershy kept fainting every now and then due to lack of sleep. If it happens in public, I have to carry her in a wagon just to get her back home. A WAGON!” Bunny threw her arms up in the air to prove her point. She was obviously still cranky about the lack of sleep she and the animals were having in contrast to the others sleeping like foals.
“Okay, Bunny” Fluttershy yawned. ”I think it’s time to go home”
“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s go before ‘you-know-who’ comes to ask Twilight out” The alien looked around, almost as though she was afraid Pinkie Pie was about to come after them.
“See you girls later, get some sleep” Twilight bid as the Pegasus had her hoof tied to the leash of her alien companion. Before Bunny took off, the Alicorn couldn’t help but notice the sad look on her shy friend’s face.
Spike closed the door regrettably, because now his friend was gone again. “That was a rather short reunion. Right, Twilight? Twilight?”
The lavender mare did not respond, she was frozen in place. She was feeling all the more upset about both her friends. But she felt something stronger for Fluttershy. It was like what she felt when she took the Love Poison and fell inlove for Pinkie. But, it wasn’t like that. It was pure, real, natural. Now that the Love Poison’s spell was broken, she finally realized it was Fluttershy all along. And because of how the Pegasus has been acting, she knew that it was the look of a broken heart. It was no wonder they were both so distant.
“Twilight? Hello? Equestria to Twilight, come in.” The Alicorn’s head snapped back to reality when Spike waved his hand in front of her face.
“Oh! Sorry, Spike!”
“No worries, you were having a daze”
But then the mare just remembered something from earlier. “What were you and Bunny talking about a while ago? Why was her paw glowing magenta?”
“Oh that. It’s just that her ears were suddenly pointing on their own to you as that color glowed on that specific paw. A magenta right hind leg means Love. When it pointed to you and Fluttershy, she concluded that you have feelings for that shy Pegasus. Can you believe her?” Spike giggled as though it was a joke, but he stopped when he noticed his friend wasn’t saying or doing anything.
“Spike, you shouldn’t giggle. Bunny’s right” Twilight lowered her head.
Spike’s pupils shrunk. “Twilight, are you saying…?”
Spike was shocked by what he heard. He knew about the Love Poison, but he didn’t know Twilight already loved somepony naturally. “No way! Are you serious? You love Fluttershy?!”
Twilight nodded, her head lowered. “It’s true, Spike. When the Love Poison was removed, my head finally was cleared and I realized I already did love somepony”
“But…okay. You love somepony, that’s normal. But what are we gonna tell Pinkie?”
“I don’t know. I want to be with Fluttershy, but it’s hard if I break Pinkie’s heart. Especially since my feelings for Pinkie weren’t even real! But then, the one I really love is beginning to die inside. Oh! How am I gonna break the news to…”
But before Twilight could finish her sentence, there was another knock on the door. Much louder and faster, as if it was urgent.
“We sure have a lot of visitors today” Spike mused to himself.
“Oh! Hi, Pinkie!” Twilight greeted when she opened the door to a pink earth pony.
“Hey, Twilight! Are you ready for our date today?!”
Twilight was confused. “Date? What date?”
“Our date, remember? We were gonna go out to watch the sunset”
“Oh, right. Of course I didn’t forget, It’s just…”
Luckily, Spike just burped out a scroll. He opened it. “Oh! Look! It’s a letter from Princess Celestia, she wants Twilight to write an essay about Love Potions and Poisons”
“Oh, I see. If it’s the Princess, it must be important. I understand, our date could wait another day”
“Thank you, Pinkie. See you soon!”
Pinkie bounced happily out of the door. “Take care. Love ya!”
“Take care”. Twilight nervously closed the door. Then she put her ear on the door to listen as Spike ran to the window to see. When they heard and saw Pinkie was no longer in sight, they breathed a sigh of relief.
“Phew! That was close! But, Spike, did you really have to say something like that?”
“No, it’s really from the princess. Read it yourself”
Twilight reread the letter and found out it was real. “Wow! What a coincidence!”
“Well, I guess that means you’ll be spending the entire day writing an essay about the Phony and the Inducer”
And that’s just what happened. Twilight spent nearly her entire day writing and researching. But in the process, she also was unable to stop thinking about Fluttershy and the situation she was in. Is she getting enough rest? Is she still able to eat? Are Bunny, Angel, and the other animals still able to sleep? She thought to herself. She was unaware of what was in store for them that night.
“How embarrassing, Bunny! I walked in there and then (hic), I fainted in front of her! (hic) Like a flower!” Fluttershy sobbed as she cried on her alien friend. Bunny kept patting her on the back. “No worries, Shy. It was my idea to come visit her anyway.”
Fluttershy pulled out of Bunny’s hug and paced on the floor. “But if so, why did you even suggest it in the first place?”
“I didn’t know it would happen there. I was just trying to help”
“Help? It’s obvious: she doesn’t love me back, she loves Pinkie”
“Twilight loves you, I know she does. I sensed it, she was even worried when you suddenly collapsed. Why else did she hug you when you woke up?”
“She…she did? But I…OW!” Fluttershy fell on the floor, her head was aching bad.
“Bunny, what’s going on here?!” Angel asked. But a bolt of dark aura blasted from Fluttershy and onto Angel. Bunny still had some holy water left in her jar, so sprinkled it upon Angel before it could’ve consumed him, saying “The power of Christ compels you!”
She ran to him as soon as the entity left. “Thank you” he said.
“Don’t thank me yet” she replied, turning their heads back to their Mistress.
Fluttershy screeched in pain, until she was no longer in control of her body. She gave in, and let the demon take over. Her skin turned from yellow to white, her mane and tail became red, her irises turned black, her pupils red, and blood poured out of her eyes.
Bunny growled at the beast, knowing her mistress was no more. Angel and the other animals cowered in fear. The demonic beast stood up, turning its attention to the young alien. It grinned at the sight.
“Well, well, a rabbit growling at a demon?” It spoke, unaware of what his opponent really was.
“What have you done to Fluttershy?!”
“You ask for your little friend? Heh, a feisty one. But you won’t live long enough to tell the tale”
“Just try me, you rotting beasty!”
That did it, the demon tried to lash at Bunny using it’s dark aura, but failed. It hissed when it felt her essence.
“A Servant?! Impossible!”
“Nothing here is impossible” Bunny’s white aura began to glow.
“Won’t matter. I can’t absorb you, but I can absorb your animal friends”
The demon lashed and levitated all of Fluttershy’s critter friends in the air. The alien was scared and worried at first. But Angel and the other animals were brave. “Don’t worry about us, go and come back when you have enough power to get rid of this thing!” Angel called out.
“Leave you behind? But, Angel…”
“Go”
“But…”
“GO!”
That did it, Bunny ran out of the cottage and closed the door behind her. She casted a spell that will prevent the demon from coming out. Then, with tears in her eyes, she ran as fast as she could to the Devotion Garden Grounds.
________________________________________
Bunny’s experiences with demons were terrible, especially for exorcisms. As she ran she couldn’t help but think. Where did that demon come from? How and when did he get to her? What’s his name? What does he even want? The questions were about to be answered, because she had reached her destination.
She closed her eyes, concentrated hard, and before she knew it, she felt His presence. She bowed down to her God, still shaken.
“Little Servant of Faith, why do you fear?” He asked.
“My Lord, my friend Fluttershy…she’s…she’s….”
“Possessed. By the demon Loveithan, he took on control of her when she felt her heart broken. For months, it’s been feeding off her broken heart. But she can be saved”
He pointed to the young alien’s stomach. When Bunny saw it, she was shocked. A sigil, red with a cross and dying demon, appeared across her where her cutie mark should be. She knew what that meant: She had to perform the exorcism. But the mere thought of it terrified her. She recalled her past try, it was disastrous. And because of that, she wished at times that she wouldn’t be sent for the duty again. Especially on her closest friend.
“Don’t be afraid, child. You weren’t ready back then. You may not be able to change the past, but you can save the future. Don’t fail her. Don’t fail and make the same mistake with your friend”
Bunny finally nodded. “Kill the demon today, face the devil tomorrow”
“Good girl. Now get some rest. I will make sure he doesn’t try to get you in your sleep. Tomorrow when you wake up, gather the rest of your group.”
“Yes, Father”
Bunny went to the closest branch, hanged herself upside-down like a bat, and slept. She knew at dawn, she would have to begin her mission.
Twilight spent yet another restless night, thinking about what may become of her friends if she doesn’t admit the truth. Yet, at one point, she nodded of and fell asleep. When she woke up, she was still worried and confused. She called out for Spike, but the dragon was nowhere in sight. She checked his bed, no luck. She searched for Owlicious, but he too was missing. “Where could they be? It’s the crack of dawn.” She thought to herself. Right then, she heard knocking at the door.
She opened it and saw all her friends. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash. They seemed all worried. “Girls! What’s going on?”
“Twilight…” Pinkie began.
“…The Cutie Mark Crusaders…” Applejack continued.
“…and our pets…” Rainbow choked her tears.
“…have gone MISSING!” Rarity finished.
“What?! So did Spike and Owlicious! Come inside, tell me what happened” Twilight gestured for them to come in her home.
“Now, tell me what happened exactly?”
“Twilight, (sniff) I was having a good nap, dreaming about parties. But when I woke up…Gummi was gone! I searched everywhere he could be, but then I ran into the others, then we found out all our pets were GONE!” Pinkie sobbed dramatically in front of Twilight.
The Unicorn found it rather over-the-top, Applejack was confused, Rainbow was rolling her eyes, and Rarity acted mature.
“It’s okay, Pinkie. I promise you, we’ll find Gummi, and the others” Twilight tried her best to fake that she was still called Pinkie’s marefriend.
“Thank you, Twilight. I knew you would do anything for me!” The others looked at each other with a deadpan face. Pinkie puckered up her lips, as if about to kiss Twilight. The Unicorn had to think of an excuse fast. That was when she realized one of her friends were not around.
“Where’s Fluttershy?”
Pinkie stopped, and looked around. “She wasn’t here?!”
“That’s odd, she has the most animals to take care of plus an alien apprentice that won’t leave her side. And yet, she isn’t at all here?” Rarity asked.
“Unless, she could be the one who took them in our sleep! Oh, when I get my hooves on her and that orange minion of hers, I’ll snap her neck!” Pinkie angrily growled.
“Pinkie, calm down. That can’t be her, and Spike is Bunny’s friend. They would never do such a thing. And Bunny is a companion and apprentice to Fluttershy, not a minion” Twilight reasoned out, trying to protect both her love and the companion of her love. Bunny was immortal, so snapping her neck wouldn’t kill her. But Fluttershy was just a normal Pegasus, if she’s done, she’s done. And if the mare dies, her apprentice would lose her head and try to take revenge or bring her friend back from the dead. Twilight wouldn’t risk it.
Just then, they all heard yet another knock on the door. Except that whoever was knocking it, they sounded as though it was urgent. It sounded like two hooves at once, rapidly, and they were even trying to tug the door open.
Twilight opened the door, and there she saw it. ”BUNNY?!”
The alien looked slightly different. She had the Exorcism’s Mark across her stomach, she wore a cross on her neck, and looked a bit drained. She was slightly paler than her normal orange and she had small eyebugs now. She looked obviously scared, and worried.
“Hurry, Twilight!” she pushed the Unicorn inside, and locked the door behind them.
“Woah! What’s with the cutie mark, Bunny?” Rainbow was wide-eyed.
“Where did you get that necklace?” Rarity was astonished.
“Are you pale today?” Pinkie furrowed her eyebrows.
“Bunny, what’s going on?” Twilight glared at the creature.
“I’ll ask you the same question: why are you all here at the crack of dawn?”
“Oh, nothing. It’s just that last night, we went to sleep with our pets and the Crusaders were still around. But when we woke up, even Spike was gone!” Applejack told calmly.
Bunny was afraid again. “Spike?! Oh no!"
The alien teleported all over the library, searching for even a hint that the owl and the dragon were still around. “Spike? Owlicious? Where are you? Come out, come out, wherever you are!”
She finally tried to sniff out Spike’s scent at his bed, and at once she saw a vision of what happened: Spike and Owlicious were sleeping, until a red tentacle grabbed them both. It brought them to Fluttershy’s cottage, and the demon inside began to harness their life energy. She also saw the Crusaders and the rest of their pets in with them.
The vision over, she was put back to the present. Looking down, she was even more of a risk than ever. ”I should’ve come earlier”
“I KNEW IT WAS YOU!” Pinkie pounced and pinned Bunny to a wall, pushing on the alien’s neck as though trying to choke her. She didn’t feel any pain, of course, but she had to ask. “Pinkie, what are you doing?”
“I WAS RIGHT! FLUTTERSHY WAS JUST JEALOUS OF ME AND TWILIGHT, WASN’T SHE?! THAT’S WHY SHE KIDNAPPED THE CRUSADERS, SPIKE, AND OUR PETS! Everypony acted that way since the day we started dating! And that mark on you?! It’s a cutie mark for thievery, is it?! I thought you were a Servant!”
Pinkie noticed Bunny wasn’t affected no matter how hard she pressed. “Don’t worry, I know you can’t die. But, I’m gonna make it worse for you. I’ll snap your neck repeatedly until I plop off your little head. Then, when you wake, I’ll do it all over again”
Bunny was already beginning to panic. If she faints or passes out, her barrier spell will drop and the demon will escape. As Pinkie got ready to snap her neck, Bunny pathetically begged. “Pinkie, no! Don’t’ do this! If you do, you’ll all die!”
“See you soon, Bun”
But before Pinkie got the chance, Twilight used her magic to levitate Pinkie and let go of Bunny. Bunny regained herself after a quick breath, sniffing at a Baby’s Breath flower. Pinkie tried to struggle. “Twilight, did you just…”
“Pinkie, let Bunny speak” The Alicorn came close to the Alien. “Are you alright?”
“Never better. Thank you, Twilight”
“Don’t mention it, now start talking”
The alien sat down, and nodded her head. “It began a few months ago. When me and Fluttershy were at Zecora’s hut with all of you, on the day Pinkie confessed her love to Twilight, it was more than a broken heart she walked away with. When we got home, she started to ball her eyes out, I needed to comfort her. But I didn’t know back then she also now had a demon in her body. I couldn’t sniff him out at first, but as days moved, it got stronger. And over that amount of time, I watched her cycle through the 3 stages of Demonic Activity”
“3?” Applejack asked.
“Indeed, AJ. The first was Infestation: she heard voices that hurt her whenever she passed out. Second was Oppression: it sucked the feeling from her broken heart, making her weaker and weaker. No wonder she looked as though she didn’t sleep. Last was the worse, Possession: last night, it finally took control of her body, changing both her form and her appearance. That’s why all your said friends are not here, he took them and is now absorbing their life energy”
The others were now shocked by what they heard. “But, how did you escape?”
Bunny looked back at them, dismayed. “Demons can’t absorb Servants, so when he tried to get at me, it burned him. He threatened me by grabbing all of Fluttershy’s pets, even Angel. But the rabbit reassured me, and I promised him I’d come back for all of them. Before I left, I casted a spell on the cottage that will prevent him from getting out. But I guess it wasn’t enough to keep him from grabbing hosts to draw from”
“What about the bag, the cross, the Baby’s Breath Flower…and is that your cutie mark?” Rainbow asked.
“No, this isn’t my cutie mark, it’s a sigil. In E-arth, when there was an exorcism needed, we would determine who is to send to perform the exorcism by the use of this mark. Whoever gets it, that being will perform the exorcism. We call it the Exorcism’s Mark. It will allow me to do the exorcism but in the process when it’s not in use, it will drain me and make me feel weak. If I get too weak and faint, my barrier spell will drop and the demon will escape to destroy everything. I have the Baby’s Breath flowers to sniff whenever I feel like fainting, it will keep me awake. The cross is what I’ll wear to show I represent exorcism. And in my bag, I have a giant fish’s liver and heart to burn on the incense to drive the demon out for good. I also have extra crosses for you all when we get there, and some holy water to keep him in one place. I also have the Exorcism’s Book, filled with what I’ll say to drive the demon out of Fluttershy”
“What if you faint along the way?” Rarity asked.
“Put the Baby’s Breath Flower on my nose, I’ll wake up. When we get the cottage, I’ll make a wreath to put on my head to keep me awake. Once the exorcism’s complete, whether we succeed or not, the sigil will fade and I’ll be back to normal”
“Cool. Have you done this before?”
“I have, I was once sent to do my first one in another dimension, and it didn’t end well” the alien looked down, remembering what happened.
“Why? What happened?” Twilight approached the alien; she put a hoof on her shoulder to assure her. “You can tell us”
Bunny sighed, and began to tell her story. “Long ago, I used to be the assistant of a being named Poltrust. He and I were as close as I was with Fluttershy. All that changed when he was possessed by the same demon she has now, Loveithan, the demon who feeds off the souls of those who were supposed to be the real lover of that being. The demon fed off his broken heart when he failed to ask the love of his life out. Eventually it took control of him, and I was sent to do the exorcism, only to find that it was already too late. I managed to remove the demon, but he died as well. I had a hard time recovering from it, and I began to think of the Exorcism’s Mark as a painful scar, a reminder that I failed. He only had enough time left to say goodbye. Overtime, I was hoping I’d never get called in to do the same task, I was scared. Now that it has come to me again, it’s like it’s happening all over again. I don’t want her to die; I don’t want her soul to be in limbo forever.”
The others were scared now, but nonetheless they had to do it. Twilight was afraid, the fate of Equestria was now on the line, and Fluttershy’s life was on the line. “How bad will it be if he succeeds?”
“Ever wondered what happened to Tartarus? It used to be called, Paradise”
Twilight had to agree, even if the risk was too high. At least she will get a chance to say goodbye.
“I failed Poltrust; I won’t make the same mistake with Fluttershy”
“Then, we shall go. Try and save her while we still can.” Twilight declared.
“Very well, but…” Bunny yawned. “I’m gonna have to take a nap”
“WHAT?!”Rainbow grabbed the alien. “YOU CAN’T SLEEP ON US NOW!”
“Sorry, Dashie. But when Pinkie strangled me, I lost all reserves of keeping myself awake to perform the exorcism”
Pinkie facehoofed. “How long will it take for you to have enough again?”
“Until dusk if I start now”
Twilight groaned in annoyance. “Okay, I guess we’ll see you then”
“Good. I’d advise you all to take shifts to avoid falling asleep all at the same time while waiting”
“Me, Pinkie, and Twilight will have the first shift. Rainbow and Applejack can doze off until 9:00 A.M” Rarity spoke.
“Good. Oh and Twilight, when we get there, you have to spill the beans” Bunny said as she clung upside-down.
Twilight knew what that meant, but…HOW DID SHE KNOW?! “Bunny, wait! How did you…” But the young alien was already asleep.
“Twilight, what did she mean by that?” Pinkie approached the lavender mare.
“Oh…um….she meant about…how I really feel for you, Pinkie” the Alicorn said, she was trying her best not to make it too obvious. She wanted her to know when it’s time.
“Okey dokey lokey!” Pinkie skipped away, thinking it may mean something about taking their ‘relationship’ even further. The Alicorn breathed a sigh of relief.
Twilight looked out her window, ever so watchful. She was afraid as ever about the fate of every living thing in Equestria. But she was even more scared about losing the mare she really loved. Don’t worry, Flutters. She thought to herself. I’ll get you out of there, I won’t let you die.
Dusk finally arrived, Bunny and the others already left Twilight’s library at sunset when the alien woke up. They ran as fast they could to Fluttershy’s cottage, each had their own emotions and reasons. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity were scared because of the thought that they may never see their pets or sisters ever again if they fail. Pinkie was both scared and excited because she was afraid of losing Gummi and she’ll be spending a risky mission with Twilight. Twilight was scared about the fate of everything she loved on the line, including the caretaker’s soul. Bunny was worried if she may fail and she either loses Equestria or her Mistress. Their fate was about to be determined, because they had reached their destination.
Bunny reached into her sling bag, grabbed the extra crosses, and gave them to each of her friends. The alien herself put a Baby’s Breath Flower wreath on her head to keep her from fainting. “Remember: whatever you may see or hear, don’t let it get to you” she reassured them before opening the door.
Wind blew at them the second Bunny closed the door behind them. Everything was in chaos. The inside of the cottage began to look like it was falling apart, animals were screaming for their lives, the Crusaders were scared to death, the demon was in the middle of the room absorbing their strength, Spike called out. “HELP!”
“That’s Fluttershy?!” Rainbow gaped in fear. “IF she still is” Bunny’s voice was monotone, the Exorcism’s Mark was starting to make her act different, rather mature and calm.
The demon cocked it’s head to Bunny and her friends, grinning ear to ear. “Well if it isn’t the little Servant, and you brought your friends too” He tried to lash at them, but due to the crosses on their necks, it burned him again and he hissed. “Crosses again?! You clever little spirit!” Bunny grinned in annoyance. He noticed the sigil across her belly, now knowing it was her who sent to rid him. He tried to lash at her, but she dodged his strike. The youngster grabbed the holy water in her bag, making it form a circle around him to prevent him from striking or escaping. Demon trapped, she got her burning incense and began to burn the fish heart and liver. He hated the scent of it. Bunny turned to Twilight again. “When I say now, you tell everything. It’s the key factor to getting her back”
The alien began to chant from the book, her eyes glowing white and sigil red. “In nomine Patris, et felii, et Spiritus Sancti, Amen” she began, making the sign of the cross.” My Lord, you are all powerful, you are God, you are our Father “
“Ecce crucem donine, fugite partes adversa!” Sprays holy water across the demon, making him burn even more. Winds began to blow harder now, it was now starting to blow them away. Luckily, there were planks of sunken wood on the floor that they grabbed onto to keep them in position.
“What’s happening?!” Pinkie asked.
“This demon’s happening. He’s trying to distract us by blowing us away” Bunny replied.” I beg you Lord, through the intercession and help of the arch angels Michael, Rafael and Gabriel, for the deliverance of our sister who is enslaved by the evil one.”
The demon was already losing his mind as the alien kept chanting, there was now a struggle going on between him and the soul he was possessing. Fluttershy’s eyes began shifting colors from her’s to the demon’s. Bunny was already beginning to tear blood and it even kept coming out of her nose. Both were now on their breaking points.
“Imponat extreman parte stolae ejus.”
“C’mon, Fluttershy! Don’t let that spirit take you over!” Twilight cried.
“In the name of the Father, the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, and all angels and saints, I command you to reveal yourself!” Upon those words, the demon’s spirit started to be extracted from Fluttershy, but it was still attached and draining her soul.
”Now, Twilight! NOW! GET HER BACK!”
“But, Bunny, you know what will happen”
“Twilight, look around! Everypony will die, Pinkie doesn’t know the truth, and Fluttershy’s dying!”
Twilight looked back at the scene, her love was in real pain. She thought about it, and gulped in fear. She climbed up on one of the standing platforms on the floor. Her heart beating fast, she called out to the Pegasus. “Fluttershy!”
The Pegasus looked at Twilight, hurt and tearing her own blood. “Fluttershy, it’s me, Twilight. I know you’re in there. This isn’t you, I know that you’re still fighting to re-take control of your body. There’s something I should tell you. My love Pinkie wasn’t even real, because…somepony put Love Poison in the cupcake I ate months ago!”
“WHAT?!” the pink earth pony was shocked.
“I’m sorry, Pinkie. But after Bunny broke the spell, I realized something else: I love you, Fluttershy”
The Pegasus froze in place, the demon was weakening instead of the host.
“I promise you, my love for you is real and true. Remember when you fainted yesterday at my house? I was worried you wouldn’t wake up. I’m sorry about how you’re suffering, and it was all my fault. I wanna make things right with you again. I don’t want you to suffer, I don’t want you to die. So, please, forgive me. Come back, Fluttershy. Come back to us.”
The mare heard everything, she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She began cry, not blood, but tears of joy. She longed to hear that. At least now, she wanted to come back. She went on fighting with the demon, he was weakening now.
“Loveithan!” Bunny cried out. The demon glared at her. “By the power of God, I condemn you back to HELL!” The demon screeched in pain, it was even more hurtful now for Fluttershy too. Twilight sensed it, she had to talk to her to keep her fighting.
“Flutters, this will end soon. You can’t give in!”
“NOOOO! “ the demon screeched.
“Get her to fight from the inside, get her back, Twilight!”
“Remember that picture of us with Bunny?” The Pegasus nodded, remembering that nice day. It was when at last, her alien friend had been accepted into the group. “Remember that day you said you would never forget?” Fluttershy now had the upper hoof. “You said we meant the world to you” Another nod. “This is what you’ll be leaving behind” Fluttershy finally won, the demon was now completely expelled from her body. With a small smile played across her lips, she fell to the ground unconscious. The demon tried to escape, but Bunny caught him.
“Oh no, you don’t! This time, I got you!” she threw a demon ball at him, which hit him square on the head. It caught him, and caged him on the spot. The alien grabbed it, went to wall, drew a cross in a circle, and chanted. “In Nomine Patris, et filii, et Sprititus Sancti, Amen”. A portal opened from where the symbol was, on the other side was Skeleton Jack, Bunny’s uncle.
“Ah, Bunny, my niece. What brings you by?” he spoke in his accent.
“Just caught him” she held up the demon ball, Loveithan was trying to escape. But he fell in fear when he saw the guardian. “Ah, Loveithan. So, we got you at last” Jack put a seal on the ball, making it permanent. “Poltrust would have been proud of you” Bunny nodded at her uncle’s words. As the portal closed and Loveithan was being put away, she grinned at his defeat. “I’ll see you in the Underworld, you sick freak”
Then something wonderful happened, not what ponies would expect, but what a Servant would after an exorcism. The wind stopped blowing, the cottage turned back to normal, the animals, The Cutie Mark Crusaders, and Spike finally were put down. Each and all of them ran back to their sisters, and owners. The sigil Bunny’s stomach finally faded and disappeared as she began to feel like her hyperactive self again. But Twilight ran to Fluttershy, who still hasn’t woken up.
“Fluttershy? Fluttershy?!” she shook the yellow mare’s body, there was no response. Twilight turned to Bunny. “Is she…?”
The alien hopped to her mistress, she held one of her forelegs. She felt a pulse at normal rate. “She’s alive, she survived. She’s just a little tired, she’ll be up in a bit” Twilight thanked Bunny.
The others began to leave, all happy now that everything was back to normal. Twilight looked at Pinkie. “Hey Pinkie?”
The earth pony glanced at her. “I’m sorry”
“I know” Pinkie walked out the door and closed it behind her. Bunny, Spike, and the other animals went upstairs, leaving Twilight alone with Fluttershy. Not a second passed when the yellow Pegasus woke up.
“Fluttershy?”
“Twilight?”
The Alicorn hugged the caretaker. Fluttershy was surprised at first, but after a while, she returned the hug. “Oh Fluttershy, I thought I lost you”
“I thought I wasn’t gonna make it”
“I promise I’ll never hurt you like that again”
“I’m fine now, Twilight. I forgive you”
Twilight pulled away, she looked into Fluttershy’s eyes. And she looked into her’s. Both happy together. Twilight then noticed that it was still nighttime. “Um, Shy, I was wondering. Well, would you like to go star-gazing with me?”
Fluttershy looked at Twilight dumbfounded and confused. “What?” she smiled.
“I mean, wait, did he make you forget? Oh, you might have not heard. I’m sorry, it’s just…”
“Oh shut it!” with a quick move, Fluttershy pulled Twilight in and kissed her. She stopped briefly, but smiled and continued when Twilight knew she felt the same.
Bunny was watching them from the window, she flew back upstairs to spread the news. “They’re kissing!” she announced. All the animals and Spike cheered in joy.
Back downstairs, both finally pulled away from the kiss, giggling as they left for the field. They were watching the constellations, hoof and hoof. They were now happy with their newly started relationship.
Twilight and Fluttershy were chatting now about all that has happened these past few days. It was nice for them to know about what happened from each other’s perspectives. “When that demon possessed you, how did you feel?” Twilight asked.
“I was scared, it felt cold and alone. It felt like I was gonna die soon. It was very painful too”
Fluttershy was obviously afraid, recalling about the experience. Twilight hugged the mare tight; she didn’t want her to feel scared again. It was very calming to Fluttershy, just her and Twilight.
The Alicorn kissed her love’s forehead. “It’s okay, I’m here now.”
Fluttershy nodded. “Thank you, Twilight”
“By the way, when we ate those cupcakes, you were sick with the Pony Pox, so Bunny had to go”
“Yes?” the Pegasus nodded.
“Bunny ate one of the cupcakes that contain the Love Poison, but how come she wasn’t affected by the spell?”
Twilight promised she wouldn't leave Fluttershy, so she decided to have a sleepover with the mare. It was very comforting, and calming to her. Both slept soundly. Spike also got to sleep there. As for Bunny, she had her dream.
________________________________________
In Bunny's mind...
Bunny had a lot of fun. She was playing with a catnip toy, rolling in the grass, doing all the fun she had as a free as she wanted. It always gave her a sense of freedom. No ponies to watch her be herself. She had the meadow all to herself. And as if things couldn't get any better,
"Bunny"
She stopped playing. She knew who's voice that was, but it seemed impossible.
"Bunny, it's me"
Bunny felt a hand on her head. She finally turned around to see somepony who she loved but died. Somepony she hadn't seen or heard from in a long time. It was her previous Master.
"Poltrust?"
"Hello, my dear. It's been a long time"
Bunny froze. Right infront of her was someone human. He had blue hair and his skin was apricot. His eyes shone with a streak of orange. He had a blue cape with him. It was no doubt. It was her old Master, Poltrust.
"Poltrust!" she cried, jumping up in his arms and hugging him. Tears of joy streamed down her face, same for him. Poltrust hugged his old apprentice, even petting her on her head. "I missed you"
"I missed you too, my sweet apprentice"
"Poltrust, I finally defeated the demon for you"
"And I've heard, dear. You've defeated the demon and avenged my death. I'm so proud of you"
Poltrust held his old apprentice close, as Bunny returned the hug. It was nice for them to be with each other again. They stood there, as Master and Apprentice. Bunny knew she smiled in her sleep. This was peaceful to her. Finally, after an entire two years of fear and depression in secret, it was all healed. Bunny even lost her fear in the Exorcism's a little as the hole of her old depression faded. The wait was finally worth it.
