Your name is FLUTTERSHY.
You are currently one of six ponies (and one sort-of-pony) stranded on a pilfered Prospitian battleship set adrift in THE FURTHEST RING. It is not quite the bleak and hopeless experience your friends have been making it out to be, however, since you have THE NOBLE CIRCLE OF HORRORTERRORS for company. Your conversations with them are pleasant, although they tend to startle your friends. Perhaps you are comfortable with them as a result of your dreamself's PLANETARY AFFILIATION.
You are a PEGASUS PONY, like your friend Rainbow Dash. Unlike Rainbow, who tends to be A DAREDEVIL, soaring through the skies at breakneck speeds, you prefer to fly with THE SYLPHIC GRACE OF AN ANGEL. Or, at least, with the grace of what you assume an angel would move with. You have never actually met one in person.
Before all life on your planet was obliterated, you worked as a STATE-EMPLOYED ANIMAL CARETAKER / ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH OFFICIAL. The work you do is based on a model created by PRIVATE PANSY, one of the founders of Equestria and a mare you very much admire. You aspire to be like her in every way. She is LIKE A MOTHER TO YOU, even though she lived a thousand years before you. This is fortunate, because you do not have a real mother. You are an orphan. Which is unfortunate.
You don't just work with animals; you also happen to love them with ALL YOUR BEING. As such, your cottage is home to a number of WOODLAND CREATURES. If anything were to happen to them, it would send you into a TERRIBLE RAGE. In almost all other scenarios, though, you are very meek, and A BIT OF A PUSHOVER.
Your friend Twilight Sparkle has asked you to document your experiences. You have decided to begin with your first encounter with THE MIDNIGHT CREW.
[panickyNaturalist opened memo “Don’t Bleed in the Suits”]
It’s peaceful here. I’m almost ashamed to admit how good it feels to be able to just stop and rest. Yes, I realize that I’m living in the wake of a terrible tragedy, one that has destroyed my entire planet. And yes, I understand that our own situation isn’t much better, since we need to be rescued before we run out of food. But after all the running, I don’t care. The past day has been the most frantic I’ve been in my entire life.
Besides, it’s not like we’re alone. We have company. I feel like the horrorterrors genuinely want to help us, despite how scary they look. But then again, I’m the only one who seems to be able to read them, so maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Rainbow Dash is right, and they’re evil. But I trust them. Even with their wriggling tentacles and gaping mouths and oozing eyes, they’re still creatures deserving of love. I think.
I know that Twilight wants me to tell my story, but where do I begin? How much of my life do you need to know? Is it important for me to tell you that I grew up in Cloudsdale in a foster home that I never much cared for and that never much cared for me? Cloudsdale is gone. My foster family is gone. So no, I don’t think they matter much.
What about Equestria? I even saved it a couple of times, but that didn’t stop the meteors, so I guess that doesn’t matter much either.
I suppose that the eradication of my home world has made much of my past life irrelevant. It’s sad to think about, that so much of what I was just doesn’t matter anymore.
But I guess it makes it easier to tell the story then, if I cut out the parts that don’t matter. The first important thing to happen to me, then, was contained in a box in my basement. The second important thing would be my friends. The third is my pestertome, which you probably already know about.
The fourth was the Dersite.
I had never seen anything like him before. He was a short, stocky bipedal creature, his entire body covered in a hard black outer shell. He was wearing an equally dark suit that had been torn in the middle of the chest, where the shell had been shattered and he was bleeding freely. And somehow, he had ended up directly on my doorstep, like he had been deposited there and left to die. I could still see the weapon that had caused his injuries: a violet-tipped arrow was raised into the air, firmly embedded inside him.
The problem with seeing something new and unfamiliar is that you really don’t know how to feel. I didn’t know whether or not I should be worried for his safety, or terrified for mine. Still, my protective desires took over, and I carried him carefully inside.
Even though I had never seen anything like him before, and so I wasn’t sure if I knew how to treat him, I was determined to try anyway. I removed the pieces of shell that had been too severely damaged, revealing the pale, nearly translucent skin underneath. It looked incredibly fragile, such that trying to remove the arrow might do more harm than good. So I cut off what was sticking out of him and bandaged what remained as carefully as I could. I had managed to stop the bleeding, but I wasn’t sure what else I could do. I decided to count my blessings and hope for the best.
The next day, he still hadn’t awoken when the meteor hit Canterlot. Even from Ponyville I could hear the vibrations. I imagine the earth ponies, who had endured earthquakes before, fared much better than I did. Confused and terrified, I hid under my bed until the chiming of my pestertome and my curiosity brought me out.
obstinateNarcoleptic [ON] began nickering panickyNaturalist [PN]
ON: fluttershy
ON: something bads happened
ON: canterlots in trouble
ON: ponies are hurt
ON: we need your medical skills
ON: fluttershy
ON: ?
ON: please tell me youre there
ON: we could really use your help
PN: oh.
PN: i’m sorry, rainbow dash.
PN: i’m a little distracted at the moment, so i didn’t notice you trying to reach me.
ON: great
ON: but we need you
ON: how fast do you think you can fly to canterlot
PN: canterlot?
PN: i’m sorry, rainbow dash.
PN: i really have my hooves tied at the moment.
PN: i understand that this is very important and ill be there as soon as i can.
ON: for ponys sake flutters whats so important that you cant help us out
ON: we need you out here
PN: i have a wounded animal that needs my help.
PN: i found the poor thing just outside my home, and it’s struggling to make it.
PN: i’m sorry, rainbow dash, but i refuse to let an innocent woodland creature die on the off chance i might be able to help you.
PN: i’ll be there as soon as i’m sure that the poor little thing is safe.
ON: but flutters
ON: these are ponies that are hurt
ON: not little pets that pass away all the time
ON: its the circle of life flutters
PN: HOW DARE YOU!
PN: COULDN’T YOU SAY THE SAME THING ABOUT PONIES?
PN: WHAT MAKES A PONY SO SPECIAL?
ON: ...wow
ON: im sorry
PN: oh my gosh.
PN: oh my gosh, i’m so sorry rainbow dash.
PN: i didn’t mean to do that just now.
PN: please don’t get angry with me...
ON: um
ON: its fine
ON: help your animal friend
ON: i hope it recovers
PN: me too!
PN: i've never seen anything like it before.
PN: its not a species of creature i recognize.
PN: i wonder what it looks like under that hard black shell it has.
ON: be careful fluttershy
PN: you too.
obstinateNarcoleptic [ON] ceased pestering panickyNaturalist [PN]
At this point, I was scared and confused, and I need guidance.
panickyNaturalist [PN] began nickering ostensiblyPhilanthropic [OP]
PN: rarity? you there?
OP: Fluttershy! What a pleasant surprise! What’s the occasion?
PN: well, it’s not too important,
PN: since i wouldn’t be able to do much about it anyway
PN: because of the patient in my care,
PN: but i just received dreadful news from rainbow dash!
PN: she said that something really bad just happened in canterlot. is this true?
OP: Why would I know? I think that Rainbow Dash, a pegasus, would be much better equipped to answer such questions with any sort of immediacy, don’t you?
PN: why would you know? the same way you knew that twilight was going to go away for a while? The same way you knew she was going to call on us to save the world? you know things you had no way of knowing on your own. you seem to know a lot more than you let on, particularly about recent events.
OP: You are correct, Fluttershy, and perceptive. Indeed, Canterlot was struck today by a meteor.
PN: what.
OP: But it will not be the last city to see tragedy. Canterlot is just the beginning, unless we stop it.
PN: if you have all this foresight, i'm surprised twilight hasn’t done to you what she did to pinkie when she learned about the pinkie sense.
OP: That would be because I have not shared with Twilight what I have with you. For reasons that will eventually become clear, I have been keeping her in the dark, and I will continue to, for at least a little while longer.
PN: then why are you sharing this with me?
OP: Because it helps to be honest with the friends that I can. I understand that you probably have questions.
PN: how can you see the future?
OP: I can’t. It is not a matter of sight. I am not a Seer. I have a friend who helps me in this regard. I believe I’ve told you about my pen pal.
PN: you’ve mentioned her. where is she from?
OP: A place very far away from here. In fact, I have never met her in person, although I hope that I may someday get the chance to. We have been in communication since I was just a little filly.
PN: then how come you’ve only been able to predict the future recently?
OP: My pen pal’s resources are not infinite. She is in no way omniscient. Rather, she has recently acquired an item pertaining to the events that are soon to pass. How this item came into her possession, I do not know, and she will not tell me, on account of what she refers to as “casual spoilers.”
PN: she isn't honest with you?
OP: She withholds information. There's a difference. Nothing she has told me thus far has proven to be false, and she has been correct about enough that I trust her, even if I do not know where her information is coming from.
OP: And she has told me that we are in no danger. These problems will be resolved in time.
PN: i hope so.
OP: Don't worry about it, Fluttershy. We’re going to get through this.
OP: In fact, I’ll see you soon!
ostensiblyPhilanthropic [OP] ceased nickering panickyNaturalist [PN]
After that, I tried to go about the activities of the day as normal, but I couldn’t deny that something had changed. Twilight had been explaining to us that she was on the verge of some sort of discovery, and she had hinted that Equestria might be in danger. Was this the danger she was trying to warn us about?
I thought about my guest downstairs. His condition was improving. I had begun administering a salve that was supposed to help with the healing and a drink to assist with the pain. There had to be some sort of connection, I thought, between my guest and the strange events. A bizarre alien creature showing up the day before a disaster such as this? I hoped that he woke up soon, in case he had any information. But I also was scared to approach him, so it maybe it was better if he stayed asleep.
The next development occurred not long afterward, when the second visitor arrived: Luna, the princess of the moon. She was carrying on her back a large ornate chest. She explained to me that she and her sister, as the heads of our country, were now swamped with responsibility. Ponies were expecting them to lead in this time of crisis, to find a solution and lead Equestria to safety. Given that none of us, not even the princesses, knew where the meteors were coming from, the request was nearly impossible, but Luna was bound and determined to try anyway. Keeping the populace calm, acting as a guiding influence, and preemptively preparing for any future meteor strikes were all tasks that would require the princess’s full attention. What remained, then, was up to us.
“Locating the source of this new danger, and eliminating it, now rests on the shoulders of the Elements of Harmony,” Luna declared. “We know that Twilight has begun an investigation into the origins of some technology related to the recent disasters. The last time I spoke to my sister, she appeared to be making progress. I trust that you and the others will assist her, should she need help.” She lifted the chest off of her back and placed it in front of me, opening it to reveal a familiar set of necklaces.
“My sister and I are entrusting you with the physical Elements, should your situation necessitate their use.”
With the formal business out of the way, the two of us took some time to talk as friends. Not too much time, Luna cautioned me, since she and her sister had a lot of work ahead of them. But enough time for her to describe to me in more detail what Twilight had been up to in Canterlot, and then the disaster from the meteor. I, in turn, mentioned the creature I was nursing back to health.
Luna almost seemed alarmed at this, and she asked me to see him. When I led her to the shelled monkey man, she relaxed, but only a little.
“Fluttershy,” she asked me, “do you know what this creature is?”
I confessed that I didn’t.
“I’ve been studying Equestrian history recently,” she began. “I have quite a bit to catch up on, and there’s one curious anecdote that caught my attention. There have been sightings, periodic glimpses of a creature over the past thousand years. Which would suggest an undiscovered species, if not for the fact that none of the sightings ever predated the founding of Equestria, and, when asked to describe the incident, the witnesses always resorted to one of four slightly different descriptions.”
“Which means?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” said Luna. “Perhaps it only means that these creatures were all born around the same time and have quite long lifespans. We don’t know what they are. But we call them the Suits.”
“Because they wear suits?”
She pointed to an embroidery on the creature’s clothes, which reminded me of a deck of playing cards. “This one’s the Club. I was worried for a second, but this one is not malevolent. If you’d found one of the others, I’d be worried for your life.”
Hearing that another pony is worried for your life is never comforting. “At least I got the one that's not dangerous,” I said, trying to make us laugh. I didn't succeed.
“I never said he wasn't dangerous,” said Luna. “I said he's not malevolent. From the research I've collected, he's probably the most dangerous of their entourage. A demolitions expert with a reckless disdain for personal safety. I would hate to see the damage inflicted to his assailant.”
Oh. I was suddenly even more weary of the creature. What if he thought I was a threat and tried to eliminate me? What if his friends came to get him back, and they decided that I knew too much? And worse, Luna's claim that at least the Club was not malevolent had the opposite of its intended effect.
“You mean the other ones are malevolent?”
Luna nodded. “One of them even tried to go toe to toe with Celestia once. The royal guard captured it, but once it was in captivity, it vanished into smoke. Some of our best wizards tried to identify the magic it had used, but there were no traces of magical residue. A natural affinity for teleportation, perhaps.”
I shivered, feeling the intimidation and fear that had somehow made its way into the room. However, in the middle of the bleak atmosphere, Luna smiled, brightening it again. “You're doing a good thing,” she assured me. “I have to get back to my sister now, so I'll leave you be.” She turned to leave, but she stopped halfway to the door. “One more thing,” she added. “Sometime, one of you should stop by the First Manehattan Bank. There’s been a bit of a development there that might prove relevant to your mission.”
And then she was gone. I think that for a full minute I just stood there, so overcome with the new developments that I no longer had the first clue what to do next. I glanced over at my guest, who was still unconscious. Had he been awake, I probably would have wet myself in fright. Hearing from Luna what he was capable of, and what his friends were capable of, only made me more wary of the figure lying on my couch. However, no matter how I tried to imagine him, he didn't look threatening.
I decided that it was time to air my concerns to somepony else. Somepony that very well might know what was going on.
panickyNaturalist [PN] began nickering ostensiblyPhilanthropic [OP]
PN: has you pen pal ever said anything about little black monkey men?
OP: I’m sorry?
PN: luna said that the suits come to important events in equestria’s history. whatever's going to happen, they seem to think it’s pretty important. i don’t think that it’s just that equestria’s in danger, because it’s been in danger before, and they didn’t care. this seems even bigger than that somehow, like equestria’s about to be changed forever.
OP: Well, Fluttershy, this new bent of yours has certainly taken be by surprise. I don’t know whether I should feel inspired or frightened.
PN: the point is, rarity, the suits know. whatever’s about to happen, they’ve got an inside scoop, just like your pen-pal does. something's happening, something big, and they know what it is and we don’t and i’m scared, because how can we stop it when the ponies who know what’s going on won’t tell?
OP: It's okay, Fluttershy. You're forgetting that we have a pony on the inside too.
PN: and you trust your pen pal, even though she doesn't tell you everything?
OP: I appreciate your skepticism, Fluttershy, but you can trust her. I've known her all my life.
PN: okay.
PN: sorry.
PN: your judgment's fine. if you trust her then i trust her.
PN: i'm just scared, rarity.
PN: i don't know what's happening and there's a monster in my living room that could blow me to pieces even though he's supposed to be nice and i don't know what's going on or what to do next.
OP: Just try to relax. Keep doing what you're doing, okay?
PN: okay.
PN: i’ll try my best.
PN: i'm just a bit scared.
OP: We all are, okay? You’re not alone. You’re never alone.
PN: thanks
PN: i have to go check on my patient again
panickyNaturalist [PN] ceased nickering ostensiblyPhilanthropic [OP]
Relax. It sounds so easy. But in practice…
I was nervous. I couldn’t help it.
I needed a towel.
[panickyNaturalist closed memo “Don’t Bleed in the Suits”]