Fluttershy doesn't know how bad things can get when a pony is taken over by the powers of Chaos. Will Discord successfully take over Equestria once and for all? She thinks everything will be fine... But will it really?
Fluttershy sighed. Angel stomped his foot and pointed to the giant recipe book Fluttershy had positioned on the table.
"I don't want to fly all that way just for one thing."
Angel slipped his paw across his neck and dramatically fell to the floor.
"Oh, alright. I'll do it this time. But I need to pack first."
Fluttershy trotted to her room and as she started to pack her things, she began to think of the dangers of visiting the dark city where she would find the ingredient. Memories of Discord flooded her thoughts; His evil laugh, his glowing eyes, and his keen eye for excellent chaos. He was the reason Fluttershy shuddered at the thought of that evil city...Saddleton. Years ago, Discord had destroyed Saddleton in an attempt to take over the throne of Princess Celestia, it was now quarantined. Fluttershy questioned Angel's urge for her to go to the empty town, but she knew Angel wouldn't have bad intentions.
In her bags she packed a few bottles of water, warm clothing, some energy bars and a few veggies, in case any hungry animals showed up. She sighed loudly, so Angel would hear her, and left her room.
"Ok Angel, I have to go now. Applejack will be coming by later to feed you all..."
She hesitated for a moment before saying goodbye and waving to everyone and leaving her cottage. She flew tirelessly for a couple hours, she was crying the whole way there. She really didn't want to do this, she knew something could go wrong, and something would. She landed in a dusty, dirty street filled with abandoned vendors carts, most of them tipped over on their side. Fluttershy slowly walked down the road towards the back of the city where she could find the forest in which the thing she needed grew in. She then heard a rustling coming from the back alley next to her. She jumped up in the air like a land mine had exploded under her. She tiptoed toward the alley thinking it could be an animal.
"H.... Hello?" Fluttershy stammered.
It was silent again.
"Oh... Uh... Heh... It um.... Must have been my... Imagination!....." Fluttershy thought looking around nervously.
She backed out slowly of the alley. She heard another loud noise from behind her. She jumped again, then turned around. She saw a dark grey tail dissapear from her vision as it escaped into a building.
"Oh my goodness, I.. I think I'm so worked up that I.... I'm seeing things!"
There was a long, silent pause.
"Get out of here!"
Fluttershy jumped for a third time. This voice wasn't coming from her head. She looked around for a second, not seeing anything, but then, a grey male pegasus with royal blue hair was running out from an alley a few feet away from her. She noticed that he was charging... to her. Fluttershy squealed in surprise as the grey pony landed on top of her. She had no idea what was going on. Was that stallion trying to hurt her, or save her?
The mare was so frightened that she curled up in a ball. The grey pony over top of Fluttershy was breathing heavily and trembling. He picked up Fluttershy, who was still in a ball, and carried her off. Fluttershy opened her eyes when she felt the ground beneath her again. She was startled to find herself in front of an old, torn down shack. She got up and streched her stiff limbs. How long was she there? No pony was around, it was silent again. She slowly walked to the door of the shack and opened it slightly.
"Uh... Um... H.. Hello?"
"Ah, there you are" said a voice coming from inside.
"Come on in."
Fluttershy hesitantly flew in. She saw the pony from before, that was over top of her, sitting on a cushion playing with the fluff that had fallen out.
"Please, sit down."
Fluttershy sat on a cushion, it went flat once she sat on it. She noticed rips in the side of it.
It was gloomy in the shack. The windows were bordered up and the door was falling off it's hinges. There were strips of dirty wallpaper with little raindrops on it. Fluttershy looked at the grey stallion, he looked back.
"I'm... I'm Stormy. What's your name?" Asked the grey pegasus.
Fluttershy ran her hoof across the floor staring at the dust that rose up from her gentle touch.
"I... I'm Fluttershy..." She whispered.
"Why... Why did you bring me here?" She added.
"Well... A long time ago, Discord, the draconequus destroyed our city. He took over and turned everypony chaotic... Except for me. I escaped from discords... well... "hooves" and then came back, to find that everypony I loved..."
Stormy stopped to wipe away a tear
"Was gone."
Fluttershy's eyes watered.
"Oh my. That sounds so horrible. I know I'd be devestated if everypony I loved... vanished."
Just then, they heard a loud knock at the door. Stormy's eyes widened as he sat frozen staring at the door. Fluttershy cocked her head to look at the door. She saw a tall unicorn stallion standing at the door. He had a very dark grey mane, a lighter shade of grey for his coat... And then, she noticed the strangest thing of all. The unicorn standing outside, had black eyes.
"Fluttershy. You have to get out of here" Stormy said in a low tone.
There was another knock at the door, even louder this time. Then, they heard a gruff voice coming from outside.
"Come out. We know you're in there."
Fluttershy was staring at Stormy, startled at what he had just said.
"Fluttershy, please. Those ponies out there are going to kill you if you don't leave. Please do it for your safety."
Fluttershy was not sure what to do. She wanted to stay, and help Stormy, but on the other hand she knew she would get hurt.
And she wasn't going to take the chance.
Fluttershy crouched low and snuck out the back door. She flew up to the roof to watch what was going to happen. Just before Stormy opened the door, he thought to himself...
"Wow. Fluttershy is the most beautiful pony I've ever seen. It's a shame we'll never meet again."
"Wow. Fluttershy is the most beautiful pony I've ever seen. It's a shame we'll never meet again."
Stormy woke up in what seemed to be a lab. There was a thick layer of dust covering every inch of it. There were a few hoof prints on the floor, most likely from the unicorn that brought him here. Huge syringes lined the walls. They were filled with an assortment of coloured liquids. There was faint talking coming from behind a door a few meters away from him.
Stormy was in an enormous amount of pain. All of his limbs, wings included felt like they were being scorched by lava. He couldn't bear the pain for much longer. He tried to move but his arms and legs were attached to the table by leather restraints which were rubbing into his skin.
Stormy laid there for an hour, tired and helpless. He then saw a figure standing outside of the door. It opened, and there was the unicorn from before, who had beaten him up.
"Oh, hello Storm Cloud. I've been waiting for you to wake up."
Stormy didn't respond. He had a pure hatred for that pony.
"Well, let's move on. Do you know why you're here?"
Stormy closed his eyes. He was filling up with anger.
"Oh, you don't? Well let me tell you. You're here because you're going to join our army today. Isn't that exciting?"
Said the dark grey stallion sarcastically.
Stormy had no response. It was time to accept his fate. There was no getting out of this.
The unicorn walked over to the wall lined with syringes, raising up huge amounts of dust. Stormy coughed furiously. The unicorn levitated a giant syringe with a dark green liquid in it. He then walked back to Stormy.
"In a few minutes, you'll be just like us."
Stormy didn't budge. He didn't try to escape. He couldn't escape.
The unicorn tapped the syringe with his hoof and put it a hairs breadth away from Stormy's sweating forehead.
"This will be enjoyable"
The unicorn said.
The dark grey pony plunged the needle in Stormy's forehead. Stormy choked in pain as the needle pierced his skin. The unicorn laughed as Storm Cloud writhed in pain on the cold, metallic table. Seconds later Stormy fell unconscious with his eyes opened wide.
One of the effects of the liquid that was rushing through Stormy's veins was that it healed all wounds Stormy possessed. His wing instantly snapped back to it's normal position, and all of his cuts and bruises he had, vanished like magic.
Stormy's pupils widened so large, that they covered the entire space of his eyes. After a while, Stormy awoke. He felt much more different than before. All of his physical pain, like bruises and such were gone. But his emotional pain had gotten worse. He could only think of the bad times in his life, no good ones.
All he remembered of the day was when Fluttershy left, when he got kidnapped... And when he turned chaotic.
Stormy let tears flow from his eyes. He wiped them off quickly when the grey unicorn entered the room again.
"Well, I see you're done. You can be freed now."
The unicorn took off the restraints from Stormy's limbs. Storm Cloud rubbed his legs and arms, they didn't hurt anymore, the red marks from the restraints were gone. He was completely healed.
"Now Storm Cloud. I need you to go collect ponies to join our army. Do you have any pony in mind?"
Stormy was thinking of a certain, weak, yellow and pink mare.
Fluttershy flew as fast as her wings could take her. She was shaking and sobbing, her face stained with tears. She landed in Town Square. Applejack had happened to see her land and galloped over to greet her. She noticed Fluttershy was crying, and went to ask her whats wrong. Before she could even answer, Fluttershy collapsed to the ground heaving great sobs of pain and sorrow.
"Fluttershy, what's wrong?"
Asked A.J.
Fluttershy lifted her head slightly and stared at Applejack through her messy, tangled mane.
Fluttershy didn't say anything, instead she stared at the sky, her eyes wide and full of fear. Applejack and Fluttershy saw a dark grey pegasus descending from the sky. His eyes black as night. Fluttershy screamed in terror as she got up quickly and backed up. Fluttershy knew who it was, and what had happened to him. Stormy landed a few feet away from Fluttershy, crying, but a very large grin across his face.
"Why did you leave me Fluttershy... WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME?!?"
Fluttershy had no time to respond. Stormy had grabbed Fluttershy by the middle and held her head close to his dark face.
"I'm going to kill myself Fluttershy. I can't be like this. I don't want to hurt anypony..."
Said Stormy coldly. It seemed as if reality had caught up with him a few times.
Stormy dropped Fluttershy and let her fall to the ground. Stormy took off and headed towards the pond nearby to drown himself. He didn't want to hurt anyone, especially Fluttershy. He knew it would be the best for everyone if he were dead. Fluttershy was sitting on the ground in shock. She finally remembered what was going on a few minutes later. She then sprinted to the pond Stormy had gone to, but she was too late. She saw Stormy's tail sticking out of the side of the pond. His body had been crushed by a large boulder. Fluttershy stood staring at the remainders of Stormy for 5 minutes. She then lied down very slowly and began to cry. She cried until she couldn't anymore.
Later that night, Rainbow Dash and Twilight had been out looking for Fluttershy since they hadn't seen her in over 4 hours. Rainbow Dash had noticed a little yellow and pink figure near the pond, she knew it had to be Fluttershy. Dashie pulled Twilight's mane and lead her to the pond. Fluttershy was sleeping on the ground, marks of her tears stained her face. Rainbow and Twily noticed the giant boulder with what seemed to be the remains of a stallion. There was dried blood all around the rock, and bits and pieces of Stormy scattered around.
Twilight and Rainbow Dash screamed in unison. It was so loud it awoke a sleeping Fluttershy.
"FLUTTERSHY!!?? WHAT.... WHAT HAPPENED????"
Twilight exclaimed.
Fluttershy stared at the boulder once more. She began to cry again.
"F... Fluttershy..."
Stammered R.D.
Fluttershy ran up and hugged a shaking Twily and Dashie. They were all crying and shaking. Twilight suggested they should just go home and calm down. They left, not covering up the suicide that had just happened in the happy little town called Ponyville.
After the small funeral held for Stormy that afternoon, Fluttershy went back to her cottage and cried on her bed for hours. She was devestated he was gone. Why couldn't it have been her? Why did he have to die? What was she going to do now?... Fluttershy didn't know what to do.. Should she... Kill herself? No. That would be horrible. But, she had nothing to do anymore. She loved Storm Cloud, and couldn't live with out him. She decided she wanted to join him.
She walked to the kitchen and went up to the knife block on her counter. She cried and took the knife in her hoof, running her other free hoof up and down the blade. She put the knife to her neck and sobbed. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash burst in, tackling Fluttershy to the floor and grabbing the knife away from her, she was also crying.
"R... Rainbow Dash??? Wh.. Why are you here?"
"I was coming over... T-to comfort you and... And I saw you with the... Knife...."
Fluttershy was laying on the ground and shaking. She suddenly got up and grabbed the knife from Rainbow Dash crying harder.
"I want to be with Stormy!!!" She cried.
She took the knife and placed it on her throat.
Rainbow Dash screamed and tackled Fluttershy once again, grabbing the knife and throwing it out the door.
"Stop it Fluttershy!!!!" She yelled.
Fluttershy then cowered in a ball crying. She was overwhelmed with all of these feelings. She thought about it... How would her friends feel if she left? She lifted her head up, marks of her tears stained her face once again. She got up and hugged Rainbow Dash tightly.
"I... I'm so sorry Dashie!" She cried. "I'll never... Ever do it again..."
Rainbow Dash smiled warmly and held Fluttershy, petting her long, soft pink mane. ___________________________________________________________________________________
Later that night, Fluttershy was sitting on her bed, her warm blanket covering her, reading a novel Twilight had given her for her birthday. She was so intrigued by how the words almost... Flowed out of the book and into her mind, she didn't hear Angel's soft whimpering. Angel coughed loudly and startled Fluttershy, the book flew out of her hands and landed on the floor.
"Oh Angel! You.. You scared me! What's wrong?"
Angel crossed his arms and glared at her. Fluttershy put her hoof to her chin.
"Oh my! I totally forgot about your special dinner! I'll go make it right now... But wait... I forgot the ingredient..."
Angel stamped his foot impatiently. Fluttershy sighed and got up, maybe hoping he wouldn't notice the difference. She walked downstairs, and saw all of her animals staring at the kitchen table, some growling, others cowering in fear.
"Whats wrong?" She asked softly.
She walked over to the table, pushing cautiously through her animals, some grabbing her legs trying to hold her back. She reached the table. A bag sat in the middle, leaning against a vase. She picked it up and examined it. Her animals all screeched. It was the ingredient she needed... For Angels dinner! She saw a little note on the bag. She read it, and a smile slowly creeped across her face. It read:
Dearest Fluttershy,
I knew you came into my town for one reason or another, I hope this was what you were looking for.
With Love, Storm Cloud.
She read the note over and over, each time, her heart filling up with more happiness. She brushed the side of the bag smiling. He hadn't left her forever, had he. After she had snapped back to reality, she noticed her animals were dead silent. They were staring at her front door. She looked there, and saw her door opening slowly. She took a step back.
"W... Who's there?" She stammered.
There was a long pause. The door wide open. With no pony there.
Fluttershy's eyes widened. Her breath shallow. She recognized that voice. But it couldn't have been him...
"Fluttershy? It's me... Stormy"
Storm Cloud walked slowly to Fluttershy. She couldn't hear the sound of his hooves, oddly enough. She must've been just, overwhelmed by hearing Stormy again. She couldn't really see him, either. She could see the faint colour of his royal blue mane. She took a step forward and squinted.
"Stormy? I.. I can't see you.. Are you there?"
"Yeah... I'm here. Well... Not exactly.."
"What do you mean 'not exactly'?"
"Well Fluttershy... I've come back in ghost form... To see you."
Fluttershy stopped squinting and her heart skipped a beat.
"But... How??"
"It's a long story... I'll make myself completley visible.. Don't be scared, alright?"
"O.. Ok..."
Fluttershy stood there staring in front of him. Her heart almost ripped out of her chest it was beating so fast. She began to see colour in front of her. First, a dark blue mane, then purple eyes, then his light gray fur appeared last. Fluttershy stood silently taking in what she was seeing. She had no idea how this was even possible. But who cared.. She was with Stormy again. Stormy walked up right to her face. Their eyes locked and Fluttershy's heart slowed down a little. Storm Cloud smiled warmly.
"Hi Fluttershy.." Stormy said softly. He then hugged Fluttershy tightly and held on to her. Fluttershy was speechless. She wrapped her forearms around Storm Cloud's back and put her head over his shoulder.
"I missed you so much" Stormy whispered in her ear.
Fluttershy's heart melted at that moment. She finally spoke:
"I.. I missed you too" She said quietly.
Fluttershy couldn't hold her tears any longer. She broke into loud sobs and held tightly onto Stormy. Storm Cloud petted her mane slowly.
"Shh it's ok..." Storm Cloud comforted her.
Fluttershy looked into Stormy's eyes and smiled and kissed his muzzle. Stormy stumbled back in surprise, blushed and smiled. He was longing for Fluttershy's touch ever since he died. He held her hooves gently and looked back into her eyes. They were a beautiful aqua green. Like nothing he'd ever seen before. He gazed into them for several minutes before snapping back to reality.
"Oh, sorry about that" Storm Cloud stammered.
Fluttershy smiled warmly. "It's alright." She said softly.
Fluttershy yawned and rubbed her eyes.
"Are you tired?" Stormy said smiling.
"Yeah... A little"
"Then go to bed, you need your rest" Storm Cloud said, still smiling.
Fluttershy sighed. "I guess... Good night stormy"
Stormy kissed Fluttershy's cheek. She blushed, and trotted upstairs. She layed down slowly. Her hooves over her chest. She then smiled the widest smile you could ever imagine. Stormy was back. She had no reason to be sad anymore. All the pain and fear inside of her vanished. She layed on her side and stared at the door. Hoping Storm Cloud would come upstairs. And he did.
The door in Fluttershy's room opened with a quiet creak, and Stormy floated inside. He wasn't used to walking just yet. Flying made him feel more, let's say, free. He flew to the foot of her bed, and sat there, not saying a word. Just admiring the beauty of the mare in front of him.
"Uh, hello Stormy" Fluttershy said with a grin.
"Hey Fluttershy... Mind if I come on to your bed?"
"Sure."
Stormy climbed on to Fluttershy's bed and layed on his back, looking at the celing. He then looked at Fluttershy and smiled widely. She looked back, and their eyes locked once again. Stormy blushed and hid his eyes. Even as a ghost, Storm Cloud was still as timid as ever. Fluttershy gave a slight giggle and closed her eyes.
"Good night Stormy" She closed her eyes and fell asleep. _____________________________________________________________________________
*CRASH*
Fluttershy awoke with a start. Her ears still ringing with the noise that woke her.
"What was that?"
"Uh, don't come down Flutters! I've got this under control!"
Fluttershy's heart stopped for a second as she realized Stormy was still there. She wasn't just dreaming. This was all real. She giggled again.
"Alright Stormy!" She called out. _____________________________ Storm Cloud was trying to make breakfast for Fluttershy. He was still getting the hang of gripping objects in his hooves. Being a ghost wasn't the easiest thing in the world. After about 20 minutes of pots and pans crashing on the floor, Fluttershy came down to help Storm Cloud out a little. Fluttershy picked a small, metal pan up and put it on her oven.
"Do you think you can get the other things?" She said with a slight smile.
"Yeah, I got this, don't worry" Stormy said back with a confident grin spread across his face.
Fluttershy giggled and went into the other room to give her animals their usual breakfast of large green pellets.
After feeding her animals, Fluttershy glided softly back into the kitchen and took a seat at her small wooden table. The smell of pancakes filled her nose. She took a deep breath, smiled and sighed.
"Smells great!"
"Thanks, this is my first time making pancakes!" Stormy said with a small chuckle.
Stormy carefully placed the pancakes he made in a neat stack. He smiled at his creation and placed a pad of butter on the top pancake, and drizzled syrup all over them, overflowing the plate. Fluttershy looked at her breakfast with a wide smile. Storm Cloud pushed the plate towards Fluttershy. She happily took the plate and ate the pancakes quickly. She licked her lips and looked at Stormy in content.
"Those were delicous, thank you Stormy." Fluttershy got up and brushed a few strands of pink hair from her face. She kissed Stormy's cheek and giggled and fluttered away. Storm Cloud blushed a bright red and sat down in a chair.
"How can I be so in love with this mare... We barely know each other! Well... Now that I'm here I'll be sure to learn everything about her." Storm Cloud thought to himself with great enthusiasm.
Fluttershy shrieked as she was dragged out her front door.
"HELP ME!" She cried as her body flew across the ground.
"Fluttershy!"
"Stormy! Help!!"
Storm Cloud bolted out the door. He ran after the mysterious figure that dragged his precious Fluttershy from her home. Fluttershy kicked her back hooves, trying to escape the 'thing' that had taken her away, but she couldn't escape it's grip. Fluttershy kept kicking and flailing her limbs. She was crying and shaking as well. She was shocked by what was happening to her.
"What's going on??" Fluttershy said shakily.
The mysterious figure didnt't respond.
"TELL ME!!" Fluttershy screamed.
The dark figure stopped. And turned slowly to Fluttershy.
"We are taking you aw--"
"GET OUT OF HERE!" Stormy yelled as he charged to the mysterious figure and knocked him to the ground. Fluttershy yelped and stood up quickly.
"Ge.. Get off of me!" The dark figure said.
Storm Cloud reached out and pulled, what seemed like a cloak from the 'thing'. To reveal a dark gray pony with a black mane and eyes to match. His cutie mark a messy, black blur. Fluttershy gasped. Stormy snarled and punched the pony in the face. The dark stallion held his cheek and frowned.
"Give me the mare" He said.
Fluttershy looked at him in disbelief.
"Why.. Why do you want me?"
"So we can turn you discorded... Once we have Ponyville.. We shall have the whole world!"
Stormy immediatley punched his mouth to shut him up.
"You're NOT taking over Ponyville! Or the whole world!"
"Fine... Then we'll take you away!!"
The dark grey pony jumped up and grabbed Stormy under his arm and started flying upwards.
"HEY! LEAVE STORMY ALONE!" Fluttershy screamed.
She flew up quickly and kicked the dark pony in the stomach. Storm Cloud's eyes widened at what he was witnessing. Fluttershy wouldn't even hurt a fly! The pegasus flew back, the wind knocked out of him, making him vulnerable. Stormy then head-butted the pony holding him. The dark stallion's wings collapsed and he fell to the ground. Storm Cloud escaping his grip before he fell.
Stormy flew over to Fluttershy. Who was cowering on the pavement.
"Are you okay Fluttershy?"
"Ye.. Yeah I'm fine..."
"Thanks for standing up for me..."
"It was nothing" She blushed and stared at the ground. "Who was that?"
"That... Was one of the Discorded ponies...." He gulped. "They're trying to.. Kill you".
"E... Excuse me?" Fluttershy asked with a panicked tone in her voice.
"I'm sorry Fluttershy... I didn't want to have to tell you... But I thought you should know... To be safe."
"How long have you known this for?"
"Um.. Since they turned me chaotic..." Stormcloud answered.
Fluttershy bit her lip and looked at a very sorry-looking Stormy.
"I'm... Not mad.. I'm just.. Scared" Fluttershy said with a small whimper.
The stallion sighed and trotted inside Fluttershy's cottage and sat at the table, his head on his hooves.
"I knew this would happen... I shouldn't have come back.. But.. How could I leave the mare I love all alone?" Stormy mumbled to himself. He rose from his seat and hovered to Fluttershy, who was sitting on the couch. Storm Cloud held the mare tightly, Flutters squeaked and held the stallion back. They held each other for a few minutes, before Storm Cloud got up.
"We need to hide" Stormy said, closing his eyes and lowering his head. "They'll find you if we don't... And I need to stay with you to at least try and protect you.."
"H..Hide?" The mare inquired, "b..but what about my animals?? I can't leave them here, th--"
"Fluttershy." Stormy interrupted, "what's more valuable.. Your life? Or your animals? I'm sure you can find somepony to take care of them for you." The stallion said softly. "You're in danger, and I don't want to risk your life by staying here."
"Where will we go?..." Asked the kind mare.
"Well.. That's just it, I have no idea.. The whole organization... Or whatever they call it, has agents all over Equestria." The pegasus said solemnly before sighing and biting his lip as he thought.
"Well.. We'll just have to stay here until one of us comes up with something" the mare stated.
