Fluorite Vapor's eyes shot open all at once. Cold sweat slowly ran down his forehead into his stinging eyes. The young stallion's body was paralyzed, only able to blink to clear his eyes, even his chest refused to move, making breathing difficult. Fluorite quickly recognized he was in bed, with his head laying back, giving him a clear view of his room. The room was particularly unextraordinary, with a window to his left and the door to his right. The pale light of the moon crept into the room through the window, illuminating the room with a small turquoise glow, letting Fluorite clearly see the shadow incarnate sneaking past his bedroom door. The figure looked like a pony had been cut out of reality, leaving a void in its wake, however it moved as a full figure, directing its muzzle straight toward Fluorite, if the shadow had eyes, they would be locked on his own. The shadow carefully and soundlessly walked toward Fluorite. Fluorite's mind screamed and raced and gave powerful commands to run, scream, fight, or do anything, yet his body refused to respond. Air became too heavy to move, and Fluorite's breath wedged in his throat, closing it off, leaving him unable to even whimper. The shadow stood directly over Fluorite's still body, as if inspecting it. The moonlight flickered and the shadow turned its attention away for only a moment. Fluorite's eyes tracked where the shadow was looking, but once his eyes left the shadowy body, he felt a jolt of pressure run through his body and a deep screaming rang through his ears.
The dark air that had washed through the room suddenly lifted, and Fluorite could hear his own frightened screaming, as his limbs found their strength and reflexively pulled his body into a tightened, fighting stance on his bed.
The door burst open to allow an aquamarine mare entrance to the room. Ocean Vapor's horn flickered and the room was lit up, revealing the pale orange earth pony prepared to pounce like a cornered animal.
"Sweetie, everything's okay, it's mom... can you hear me?" Ocean said calmly at a very regular pace. She knew better than to make large movements or sounds after one of these episodes.
Fluorite's eyes locked in on his mother, standing gently at the end of the room. His attention was torn between deciphering the mare that now stood in his room, getting his heart to work at a regular beat, and checking the room for escape routes. After a few seconds, Fluorite recognized his mother, and her presence settled his nerves quickly, causing his tense limbs to give way and he practically collapsed on his bed.
"Mom? It happened again, didn't it?" Tears began to form in Fluorite's eyes, between feeling afraid, feeling helpless, and feeling embarrassed there was no way to stop them.
"Ssshhh dear, everything's okay." Ocean said as she carefully ran her hoof through his onyx mane. "You're safe." She held him tightly as tremors ran through his body.
Looking over the bed, Ocean noticed a loose clumpof short orange hairs on the sheets.
Fluorite Vapor trudged through his morning schedule, the bags under his eyes seemingly pulling his eyelids down with them. Fluorite took his shower half asleep, scrubbing over his body, allowing the hot water to relax his skin. Drying and brushing his coat seemed particularly difficult this morning, as a lot of the hairs seemed to be falling out.
Then he saw it.
"MOM!" Fluorite shouted as he ran out to find her.
Ocean Vapor was enjoying a morning coffee over the newspaper, and turned to see her son, who seemed worried. "What is it?" She asked with concern in her voice.
"LOOK!" Fluorite instructed as he turned sideways, to give Ocean a view of his flank.
Ocean's eyes widened. Her son had gotten some attention recently for lacking a Cutie Mark at his age. While it hadn't bothered either of them, they often had to consider the question of when or how it would appear, Fluorite was almost an adult now, after all. However, there was now a mark adorning his flank. Despite what would usually be a great cause for celebration, Ocean couldn't tell quite how to react, and upon seeing the face on her son, it seemed she was in good company.
The mark was unusual. Cutie Marks would appear as a change in coloration over the top of a pony's coat, but Fluorite's cutie mark was instead an absence of the coat. Hairs had fallen out to reveal a darker skin tone underneath, and the leathery skin appeared to resemble a monstrous face, not unlike a jack-o-lantern carved for Nightmare Night.
"Is that your Cutie Mark?" Ocean asked quietly.
"I- I guess? I don't know, what do I do?" Fluorite asked with increasing anxiety.
His mother quickly embraced her son and calmed him down. "It's okay, don't worry." She said between hushes. "Everything's okay."
Fluorite relaxed and looked over his flank. The mark there filled him with anxiety, but his mother's words were encouraging. The mark wasn't causing any trouble, at least.
Fluorite thought the mark wasn't causing any trouble, but that was before heading outside. He was used to occasional sneers or jabs at his blank flank when he went about, but the streets of Baltimare had changed overnight. It wasn't hard to notice the ponies on the streets were giving him extra room as he trotted toward work. Those who used to turn their noses upwards looked instead with an uneasy horror as they did double and triple takes at Fluorite's flank.
"Well well well, if it 'aint our favorite blank flank!" A voice called over Fluorite's shoulder. The voice belonged to a bulky plum pegasus stallion, who was followed by a rust colored pegasus and a pink unicorn mare.
Fluorite sighed and turned around. "Swell, Wine, ...Venus." he said, addressing the unicorn mare with particular distaste.
The three ponies forgot their attempts at bullying before Fluorite had even finished addressing them. Shock smeared across their faces, their eyes glued to Fluorite's mark. Each of them worked their mouths as though they were going to say something, but none of them did.
"what-" Fluorite started before being cut off by Swell, the plum pegasus.
"FREAK!"
The three of them ran with shrieks of fear, causing a panic to stir in everypony on the street. Most watched still as the grave, as though if they moved, they would be attacked.
Fluorite looked around and back to the mark on his flank.
"Great..."
Ocean Vapor's dark green aura held a bowl of grapes in the air as she left the kitchen toward her son in the living room.
"And they just sent you home?" She asked.
Fluorite was hiding his head under a load of pillows until he smelled the grapes approaching. Lifting his head up, he answered.
"They said they didn't want me interacting with customers after what happened in the street, and there wasn't anything in the back that needed doing today..." He said, enthusiastically attacking the grapes Ocean brought into the room. "And that's a lie, since the backroom work is never done..."
Ocean watched her son, desperately wishing there was something she could do, but the mark on his flank was so alien...
A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.
"Coming!" She said as she left the couch. Fluorite sank deeper into the couch, hoping to hide.
Ocean opened the door with her magic, revealing a silver griffon on the other side. The griffon had a couple saddlebags and a few letters in claw.
"Oh, Gabby! I wasn't expecting you." Said Ocean.
"Hey Ms. V." Said the griffon. "Somepony in town needed a package from Luna Bay. I figured I could take my old route again, since I'm in town."
"Great, do you think you could ship a pony out? Luna Bay sounds perfect, right in the middle of the water if you don't mind..." Fluorite called from behind the couch in an exhausted tone.
"What's with you?" Gabriella asked.
Fluorite simply stood up and gave the griffon a good view of his flank.
Gabby's eyes shone like the sun and she let out a squeal.
"AAAHHH! YOU GOT YOUR CUTIE MARK!" She shouted in total genuine excitement.
Fluorite winced. "Yeah, sure... I just wish I didn't..."
Gabby's expression turned around and she looked at the young stallion with complete confusion. She looked back at Ocean, who simply shrugged.
"Well hey, if you've got Cutie Mark troubles, I know exactly who you need to talk to." Gabby said with a smile.