Fluttershy was no stranger to taking stray animals into her home and caring for them whenever they needed it. A few mice here and there, a small family of songbirds, maybe a few snakes if there wasn’t any prey for them to attack that was also in her care. A few animals in her home was just a part of her routine.
The keyword in that sentiment was ‘few.’
But tonight - or was it today? - was different. She had been startled from her place on her bed, reading a nice book, when a series of cacophonous crashes and distressed animal wails sounded from downstairs. Alarmed, she dropped her book onto her sheets and quickly made for the living room. Her mind was already racing, assuming that she had just gotten one really big animal waltzing in uninvited and scaring the others.
However, to her shock, she was greeted by the sight of her living room filled to capacity with animals of every shape and size. She recognized some of them as former patients, including Harry the bear, Brittney the badger, and Otis the coyote. Between them were flamingos, mice, birds both big and small, rabbits, snakes, and a whole host of other creatures.
And all of them looked scared out of their minds.
“Oh dear,” Fluttershy whispered to herself. She stepped forward and cleared her throat. “Ahem. Uh, hello?”
All eyes flew to her, and the animals that knew her were quick to chatter and grunt at the others, communicating that yes, this was the nice pony. Fluttershy’s brow knitted in confusion as the meaning of the sounds got jumbled up. Too many creatures were vocalizing at once for her to make out anything concrete. One thing was for sure, though.
These animals were hiding from something.
“Goodness, whatever’s caused you all to feel such distress?” she questioned out loud as a flock of hummingbirds darted into the long pink curtain that was her mane.
Harry let out an unsettling growl and gestured back for the front door, his ears folding back.
Fluttershy frowned and started for the door. “Well, whatever it is, I’m sure it’s nothing you need to-”
The words died in her throat. Whatever she had been about to say was replaced with a terrified, high-pitched shriek as her door was suddenly knocked clean off of its hinges and sent flying right at her. She barely had time to throw herself to one side, as did the animal behind her. They parted around the flying door like the water of a river around a stone, all letting out their own panicked exclamations.
Frantic and on the verge of panic herself, Fluttershy lifted her eyes to try and get a look at what had just invaded her home. She watched, petrified with fear as dark vines covered in sharp blue thorns reached in through the gap where her door used to be. They thrashed about wildly, knocking over furniture and reaching for the now-stampeding mass of animals.
Some of the vines stopped and reoriented to slither towards her, cutting through the air like flying snakes. Fluttershy screamed again, quickly rising to her hooves and sprinting the other way. She didn’t know where she was going, and in the confused mass of panicking animals, she didn’t have any way of seeing where.
She hadn’t even made it five feet before the first of the vines coiled tightly around her throat. Her scream was instantly silenced, her airflow completely cut off by the vice grip. Her hooves flew up to the constricting vine, desperate for air. As she kicked and struggled, the vine yanked her back. Before she knew what was happening, she was being lifted high into the air over her home.
Her vision was starting to go dark and tunnel from the lack of oxygen. Her hooves clawed feebly at her throat, her eyes bulged in their sockets, and her mouth hung open in a desperate effort to just breathe. “Is this it?” she thought in her mind, her hooves starting to lose strength. “Am I about to… die?”
Her eyes slowly drifted closed, the life literally being choked out of her. Any moment, she’d pass out.
Suddenly, there was a hard thrash, and life-giving air came rushing back into her lungs with a hoarse gasp. Her eyes snapped open, as did her wings when she found herself suddenly in freefall. She caught the wind and was just able to slow her descent to the point that the landing wouldn’t injure her. However, in her dazed and light-headed state, she was not able to keep from falling forward and sliding along the ground several feet upon landing.
She let out a series of pained coughs, one of her hooves gingerly massaging her sore neck while the other pushed her back up to a standing position. All the while, her mind raced. Why had the vine dropped her? And for that matter, what were those vines? She had never seen anything like them before.
Taking in another breath, she looked up to survey the scene. She let out a frightened squeak when the very vine that had just been strangling her crashed to the ground in front of her, twitching and writhing like a particularly agitated earthworm. However, it was prone and did not rise again. Fluttershy looked up to see Harry, his teeth bared in a furious scowl. At his paws was the shredded stump that had once been the offending vine. He had saved her.
But there were more. So many more.
Fluttershy’s heart fell into her stomach, and her face went pale. More and more of the spiked vines were emerging from the Everfree Forest in enormous amounts, spreading in all directions and violently tearing aside anything that dared to get in its way. She watched trees being constricted and uprooted, boulders toppled, and worst of all… her house being pulled to pieces.
More of the vines turned to her and came rushing. She took a step back, squeaking in terror. Her throat tightened instinctively. The bear was faster, though, and quickly leaped onto the lunging vines. He pinned them to the ground under his weight before flashing Fluttershy a hard stare. The loud roar he sent her way carried a single, simple meaning.
Run.
Fluttershy, barely containing her horrified whimpers, turned on her hooves and broke into a mad sprint away from her home, heading for Ponyville. She needed her friends.
The situation inside the village was even more chaotic than it had been at her cottage. The vines were tearing into anything they could and had already outright dismantled a collection of homes around the edges that faced the forest. Overhead, shadowy clouds with more of those sharp thorns rocketed through the sky, emitting wild lightning bolts seemingly at random.
It was absolute pandemonium. Ponies were running and screaming, searching for any kind of shelter they could find. Some ducked into their homes while others abandoned them. Others went for something they could use to defend themselves, while any others made to flee outright.
“Why is this happening?” Fluttershy whimpered under her breath over and over as another family went sprinting past, the distressed wails of an infant going along with them before being lost in the tumult of the crowd. “Why is this happening, why is this happening, why is this happening…?”
“Fluttershy!” the voice of Applejack knocked the terrified pegasus out of her trance. She turned around and caught sight of the farmer galloping up to her with a long coil of rope slung around her shoulders in a lasso. “Oh, thank Celestia, there ya are.”
Fluttershy sighed in relief and reached out to give the farmer a tight hug. “Applejack,” she choked out, her terror driving her to tears. She shuddered and cried out when she heard a crash somewhere behind her, and her grip on Applejack tightened. “What do we do?!”
Applejack winced, positioning herself protectively in front of the weeping pegasus. “Ah dunno. Ah’ve never seen anythin’ like this before,” she said, her tone grim and unsure. “We gotta find the others, though. Any idea where they are?”
Fluttershy shook her head. She hadn’t been able to make heads or tails of any part of this situation. None of it made sense!
“Consarnit,” Applejack swore under her breath before prying Fluttershy off of her. “Alright, come on. We’ll try the library.”
Fluttershy hiccupped and nodded. The library. Yes, that would be as safe a place as any. It had a basement, and Twilight and Rainbow would check there for them first… right?
Applejack took Fluttershy’s hoof firmly in her own before taking off down the street at a full sprint. Fluttershy squeaked in pain as her foreleg got tugged from the sudden acceleration, and even with the adrenaline in her veins, she was barely able to keep up.
“Cripes… it’s like the forest is expandin’ or somethin’...” Applejack muttered, her eyes wandering over to the Everfree.
“Expanding?” Fluttershy questioned, her voice trembling horribly.
Applejack’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe. It’s all Ah can think of,” she said. She grunted when another of the vines tore along the ground in front of her, leaving a sizable trench and forcing her to stop. “Gah! Horseapples!”
Fluttershy clung to Applejack for dear life as the vine came swinging back around for them like a whip. Applejack braced herself for impact, not having enough time to move them both out of the way. It struck them both in the side. Fluttershy gasped as the air was driven from her lungs, and both of them were sent flying back through the air to crash to the ground several yards away.
Fluttershy whimpered pitifully as incredible pain swelled in her sides, her breath coming in heaving gasps. She looked around in a dizzy haze for several seconds, the world blurry and unfocused. She blinked several times, and finally, her vision focused. Applejack was already standing back up next to her, gritting her teeth in pain.
“Shoot, we gotta move!” Applejack shouted, reaching down and hauling Fluttershy to one side. She let out a squeal as the ground where she had just been was pounded by the vine as it came down like a mallet, creating a small dent in the earth.
Applejack quickly led Fluttershy around a corner and into an alleyway. They made a series of rapid, random turns before finally coming back out onto the streets further ahead. “Whew, Ah think we lost it,” Applejack breathed out before turning to Fluttershy. “You alright, sugarcube?”
“M-mhmm…” Fluttershy answered weakly, her hooves holding tightly onto her mane for security.
Applejack gave her a reassuring smile. “Right, yer doin’ great. Come on, the library ain’t far.”
Fluttershy nodded weakly and followed Applejack out of the alley. This street was quieter than the others, and it seemed the vines hadn’t quite made it this far into town yet. There were still a fair few ponies running for cover or tools, though, some of them occasionally casting furtive glances up towards the sky and Canterlot.
“There it is,” Applejack pointed ahead, relief evident in her voice. Fluttershy followed her hoof and, sure enough, there was the Golden Oaks LIbrary, undisturbed by the chaos near the outer edge of Ponyville. “C’mon, let’s get inside.”
As soon as they reached the door, she yanked it open and ushered Fluttershy inside. Already she was starting to relax in the familiar environment. She took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh before looking around. To her joy, she found that Pinkie Pie and Rarity were also present, accompanied by Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.
“Fluttershy, Applejack!” Rarity called to them, relieved. “Oh, thank goodness! Are you two quite alright?”
“A little banged up,” Applejack responded, closing the door behind her and locking it. “Them vines are angrier than a bull in a red barn! But we’re alright.”
Pinkie Pie, who was stationed by one of the windows, gave her friends a warm smile and wave before glaring dourly out the window. “Gee, this kinda stinks,” she lamented.
“Understatement of the year, darling,” Rarity added, running a hoof over her face. “Ugh… What is going on?”
“Not a clue,” Applejack grumbled, adjusting her hat on her head and walking for the center of the room. “Nothin’ we can do ‘bout it fer now but stay safe and wait fer Twilight and Rainbow. Ah’m sure they’re comin’ along to help us.”
“Of course they are!” Scootaloo piped up from Pinkie’s side, stepping forward. “Rainbow Dash and Twilight aren’t gonna leave us hanging! They’re, like, local heroes!”
Fluttershy shivered. With the adrenaline finally leaving her body, she was free to fall to her haunches and take a breather. “I just hope they aren’t having any problems like this, too…” she mumbled out, a hoof covering up her frantically beating heart.
“I dunno,” Pinkie Pie remarked, her eyes narrowing. “Something tells me the sky looking like that isn‘t good news for them.”
“Both day and night,” Rarity noted, glancing towards the nearest window. “Heavens, it’s like something out of a nightmare…”
“We’ll manage,” Applejack assured her before turning to Fluttershy. “Why don’t ya lay down and get some rest, Fluttershy? Y’all had it worse than Ah did out there.”
Fluttershy went to protest, but the dull pain on her throat and in her ribs silenced her voice before she could use it. What could she do for now anyway? It wasn’t like she could talk to plants the same way she could talk to animals, so convincing them to go away was out of the question.
So, in the end, she gave a shaky nod and dragged herself over to the couch. “I just hope Rainbow and Twilight get here soon,” she thought to herself. “I’m so scared… please, you two… hurry.”
In all the time since Twilight Sparkle had been an amnesiac, she had been terrified of many things. From not knowing anything about herself or her loved ones to feelings of inadequacy and shame when she had failed to live up to those expectations, and even fear for her own life when a giant wooden snake almost crushed her. She had been scared of many things…
But never had something frightened her more than the sight before her.
“Holy…” Rainbow whispered on Twilight’s back, her voice reflecting her own shock and dread. “They weren’t this hostile in my flash…”
The two had spent nearly an hour flying as fast as Twilight could go from Canterlot, with Rainbow perched on her back. Without the use of the pegasus’ wings, Twilight had to do the flying for both of them. It had been a long and unpleasant journey, but now, at last, they had reached Ponyville.
And it was being torn apart by vines from the Everfree Forest.
Twilight swallowed heavily, her eyes watching as one vine plunged through the window of a home with ease. When it came back out, it had coiled around an earth pony mare. She kicked and screamed and beat her hooves against the vine, but it did not falter under her efforts. With a quick twist and a flick, it sent her falling to the street with enough force to knock her out cold. Then, with her out of the way, the vine reached into the home again, no doubt to dismantle it from within.
And that was far, far from the worst of it. Twilight shrank back, her wing flaps starting to turn rigid. “Merciful Celestia… what are we supposed to do…?” she choked out, barely able to keep herself from whimpering.
Rainbow’s hooves tightened around her barrel. “We find our friends and we stop these things,” was her simple instruction. “Take us to the library. Chances are they met up there.”
Twilight turned to head for the building in question. She yelped and flailed back when a spikey cloud went shooting past, emitting a deafening boom of thunder mere yards away. Her ears rang and her heart hammered in her chest. Her wings began to fall out of sync, and her altitude was starting to plummet.
“Twilight, focus! Calm down! Breathe!” Rainbow ordered into her ear.
Twilight focused on Rainbow’s voice and did as she had been told. She lifted a hoof up to her chest, focusing on the breathing exercise she had perfected back when she was first learning how to fly. Breathe in, push out. Breathe in, push out. After a few repetitions, her descent came to an end, and she came to a stable hover.
“Phew… thank you,” she said gratefully to Rainbow before beginning her descent for the library. Thankfully, it appeared to have avoided the worst of the carnage so far.
“No prob.”
Twilight soon came to a landing right in front of the library. Rainbow hopped off of her back without missing a beat, and the two of them made for the door without a word. When Rainbow’s hoof found the handle, she let out a disgruntled growl when it refused to budge. “Freaking… hey! Open up! We’re sitting ducks out here!” she shouted, pounding on the door.
Twilight briefly glanced over her shoulder while they waited for an answer, her ears lowering when another loud crash echoed from somewhere deeper in Ponyville. The sight of the town she had called her home ever since waking up in such a state of chaos and disorder… it left a pit in her heart, one which was growing more and more with every passing second.
Twilight turned back just in time to watch it open. Applejack stuck her head out, relief evident on her face. “Twilight! Rainbow Dash!” she greeted, reaching out and yanking the two into a relieved hug. “Aw, shucks! Are we glad to see you!”
“Did they make it?!” Pinkie’s voice echoed from farther in, and the pink menace herself soon emerged from right behind the farmer. Her face lit up with unrestrained glee. “They made it!”
“Yeah, yeah, cut to the chase,” Rainbow dismissed the happy reunion before it could get too involved. She broke out of the hug with Applejack and leveled a hard look at her. “What in Tartarus is going on out there?!”
“I am afraid we have no idea, darling,” Rarity answered, stepping forward. “But do come in, quickly! We don’t want to draw any attention to ourselves!”
Rainbow and Twilight didn’t need to be told twice. They quickly shuffled inside, and Applejack closed the door up behind them. Twilight looked around the Library with a measure of relief at seeing it more or less unharmed. The drapes had all been pulled over the windows and most of the lights were out, leaving the whole thing in low light.
But her friends were all here, and they all appeared to be unharmed. Although…
Twilight’s eyes widened. “Fluttershy! What happened to you?!” she asked in a raised voice, trotting up to the mare in question.
Fluttershy leaned back from her place on the couch, her eyes wide in surprise. “What?”
Twilight reached out and gingerly lifted Fluttershy’s chin to get a better look. All around her throat in a thick ring was a dark and ugly bruise, one that made her stomach twist in dread. She didn’t want to imagine what could have given her that mark, but after what she had seen outside, it was far, far too easy. There was also the large bruise on her side, right above her wing, but that was less severe.
Fluttershy whimpered and tucked her chin down to cover her neck. “I… one of them tried to choke me…” she said in barely even a whisper.
Rainbow snarled under her breath, turning to the room at large. “Okay, this has gone on long enough. Everypony stay here, I’m getting the Elements!” she announced.
“Alright! ‘Bout time we got to do somethin’ bout all this!” Applejack cheered, stomping a hoof for emphasis.
“Quite!” Rarity agreed, adjusting her mane with a hoof. “I should be glad to be rid of these dreadful vines sooner rather than later! Ugh, just look at what they’ve done to my mane!”
Sweetie’s expression flattened. “Is your mane all you're worried about?”
“Of course not, dear, but it is the priority at this specific second. Why?”
Before any jabs could be made at the fashionista's expense, Scootaloo piped up with alarm. “Uh, guys? What’s wrong with Fluttershy?”
Twilight’s heart skipped a beat. She turned to look at Fluttershy along with everypony else. Her eyes had gone wide, and her breath was starting to come in heaving gasps.
“I think she’s getting Flashed,” Pinkie Pie observed thoughtfully, a smoking pipe having appeared between her lips. She pulled it out and hummed like a cheesy private eye.
As if on cue, Fluttershy let out a loud gasp. Her hooves flew up to cover her eyes, and she began to fall to one side. Twilight moved quickly and caught her before easing her back so she was resting against the base of the couch.
It was odd, but that simple maneuver felt familiar to her, somehow…
“Keep an eye on her,” Rainbow said loudly before pushing open the room to the basement. “I’ll be back in a sec.”
Twilight hummed and nodded, focusing entirely on Fluttershy. “Whatever you’re seeing, I hope it can help us…” she thought, her ears folding back when she heard another distant crash somewhere outside, the noise muffled by the library walls.
All the while, Fluttershy was silent.