//------------------------------// // Chapter Six // Story: The Beast Within // by Lil Bear Sinclair //------------------------------// She couldn’t believe what she heard. The sentence still fluttered around in her mind as she tried to grasp the situation at hoof. Rainbow Dash made her way towards Fluttershy’s front door at half one in the morning, some devastating news accompanied her about Fluttershy’s brother; Zephyr Breeze. Rarity let the saddened mare inside as she didn’t want her standing outside in the cold. She had offered to get some tea for the pegasus, but she politely declined mentioning that she wasn’t that thirsty, or even hungry for that matter, As she entered the cottage, Rainbow had gone into detail on how she had stumbled upon the body. How she had entered the house shortly after bumping into Fluttershy and when she climbed the stairs towards his room she could see a dark liquid slowly flowing from under the door. Rarity, however, didn’t need to know every single detail, she didn’t want to know as it made her sick just thinking about it, but she couldn’t push her away in this state. Rarity decided to take her into the kitchen to relax and talk about what happened, “Is Tank in here?...” Dash asked her quietly, Tank the Tortoise were always there for her and since he had gotten sick, Dash felt lonely. All she wanted at that very moment was to see her pet. Rarity nodded at her which had Dash smiling at her weakly, It didn’t take long for the two to enter the kitchen. Rainbow Dash instantly hurried towards where Tank was resting, seeing him she smiled and picked him up. Bringing him over towards the island which stood in the middle of the kitchen. He slowly smiled at the mare as Rarity takes a seat at the island as Dash began rubbing her head against Tank’s shell which brought concern to the unicorn, “Rainbow Dash… Darling… I’m slightly concerned for you… This is something way too big to deal with on your own,” Rainbow Dash looked up at Rarity, “That’s why I came to see Fluttershy… But I got you instead,” Rainbow said as she hugged Tank tightly, “Thanks… I guess?” Rarity tried to brush that comment off, but it lingered at the back of her mind, upsetting her slightly, “I’m sorry that I’m not Fluttershy,” “You know I don't mean that harshly… I’ve just known Fluttershy for years now and… I’ve dated her brother for just under a year… Everything is crashing down right now and I just need her to be here…” It was strange, some sort of jealousy pinged inside Rarity when Dash said that, which caused her to feel defensive. So much so that she felt the need to protect her title as Fluttershy’s girlfriend, “Well, she’s upstairs sleeping right now and I’d rather not wake her up alright? She needs relaxation,” Rarity said, “Hence, that's why I’m here since I’m with her and all I need to be here… To look after her…” It was a slip of the tongue, she hadn’t meant to say it like that, “I knew it! You two are dating then!” She called out, throwing a hoof in her direction, “I should have suspected this as Fluttershy had stopped asking me to come to spend the weekend with her since that girl can get pretty lonely… It’s all because the two of you are together!” “Wait... What?” She was flabbergasted, “Are you serious? Did you come here just to lie about something so serious like Zephyr’s death just to catch out on our relationship?!” Rarity was disgusted, “How can you be so insensitive!” Dash then became defensive. “Woah! Don’t yell at me! I wouldn’t dare lie about something as serious as that Rarity! Listen, I did find him dead! He was murdered in cold blood and I’m suffering! It just so happened that I wanted to find out if the two of you were dating! It was eating me from the inside!” Rarity scoffs at her, “I still can’t believe you,” She gets up, “But, to answer your semi question, yes Fluttershy and I are dating. I’d rather you not know but this is way out of hoof now,” Rarity walked over to the sink to pour herself a glass of water,” This is a secret, okay? Don’t tell anyone,” “Yeah, I’ll keep your little secret safe,” Dash said to her, “So, when did you get that done?” She then asked her, “Get what done darling?” She was slightly confused about what her friend was going on about, “That piercing? Considering that you don’t have the actual piercing in, I can tell you have just recently had it done,” Dash smiled at her as she said that which causes a nervous chuckle to escape Rarity’s lips. “Oh yeah… I did get a piercing today, but I had some issues with it in earlier so I decided to remove it to avoid any infections,” She walked back over to the island and takes her seat as she takes a sip of her glass of water. “I do have to admit, thinking about what it would look like if you had one in, you’d look pretty badass with them in,” Dash then continued to pet her tortoise, “Should I get a piercing?” She pondered her mind. “Rainbow Dash, can we get back to the matter at hoof here, you’ve literally just turned up at my door, dropped a huge bombshell and quickly flicked off it soon as you figured out our secret,” “I’m struggling to handle all these emotions Rarity, I’m not used to it… It’s hard…” Dash’s ears flatten as Rarity nodded at her, “I couldn’t even imagine the pain that you’re going through right now Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said as she got up off her seat and walked over to Dash, pulling her into a warm embrace, “If you wanna stay over tonight you're more than welcome to. The guest bedroom is yours for the night,” Rarity said to her with a soft smile. "I do really appreciate that Rarity… But what about Fluttershy?” Dash asked her, looking into her eyes. "Well, what about her?” Rarity backs away from Dash, looking back into her eyes which prompted Dash to look away, "We need to tell her about her brother’s death…” "I’d rather tell her tomorrow Rainbow, she’s been through enough today I don’t want to add onto the pressure,” Rarity said, not wanting to go into too much detail with what today had consisted of, “Now let’s head upstairs,” Rainbow Dash agreed and followed Rarity out of the kitchen and up the stairs. She was finally relieved that she had some confirmation on their relationship, she should have just gone to Rarity about it. Rainbow wished she would have visited under better circumstances, the two reached the top of the stairs and made their way towards the bedroom door, “I really appreciate this Rarity,” “Don’t worry about it. Now you rest up Rainbow dear, we’ll discuss everything tomorrow?” Dash nodded as she climbed onto the bed, Rarity smiled at her, just as she was about to leave Rainbow stopped her. “Hey, before you leave, can I ask you a question? About… Your relationship?” She asked as Rarity turned around, “Yeah, sure of course dear. What is it?” “I’m just curious about two things… How long have you two been dating for and why did you the two of you keep it a secret?” Dash climbed under the covers. “We started dating just over a year ago, I believe it was around the time when you discovered that A.K Yearling was actually Daring Do,” She started off, “And the reason why we kept it a secret was due to Fluttershy. That poor mare was worrying about you guys accepting us and if you’d treat us different…” Her ears flattened, “I had the same fear as Fluttershy until Pinkie Pie mentioned something about herself being gay and how she was dating Twilight… A lot of weight was lifted off my shoulders that day… Fluttershy however, still doesn't get it that you guys will accept us,” “You know that I’d support the both of you no matter what. You guys are two of my best friends, I wouldn’t think any differently,” She said to her which prompted a smile to form on Rarity’s face. “That means so much Rainbow Dash, more than you think,” Rarity began walking towards the bathroom door, “We’ll speak more tomorrow, okay?” Dash nodded as she turned the light off and leaves her to go to bed. Rarity sighed heavily as the door closed behind her. She didn’t want to break the news to Fluttershy, it shouldn’t be here in the first place, Fluttershy should hear it from her parents and not from either her or Rainbow Dash. Rarity pondered her mind on what to do, she knew that Dash wanted to tell Fluttershy herself, what if Rarity wasn’t here? Would Rainbow Dash really drop all that weight onto Fluttershy? Without thinking about how it would affect her? Rarity decided that she should get a message to her parents, she made her towards the stairs. Rarity looked over the bottom floor, scanning around for Fluttershy’s phone. She never really had to use it, it was even rare that Fluttershy had to use it. She began her descent down the stairs, hearing each floorboard creak as she walked down the stairs. Once arriving at the bottom of the stairs she began looking around for the phone, “Where would she put it…” She asked herself as she walked towards the sofa. She then spotted it, placed down on a side table. Smiling she walked over and picks it up, placed to the side of it was the phonebook. Fluttershy didn’t really need to have it filled, once she opened it up she only saw a single page of numbers, ” Okay… So, there's our friend's numbers, my number, Nurse Redheart… Tree Hugger? Wait… Why is she in her phonebook? She told me she cut off all communication… I’ll have to speak to her about that… Back to what I was doing,” Rarity then stumbled upon her parent's number. Smiling, she starts to dial it. It rang for several seconds before reaching answer phone, she heard a male voice speaking, ” Thank you for calling the Shy household, I’m sorry that we aren’t able to make it to the phone right now. Please leave your name and number after the beep,” Then an obnoxious beep followed. “Hello, my name is Rarity, a friend of your daughter. I’m calling to ask for a favour. I just got the devastating news about Zephyr Breeze. And I’m so sorry for your loss. I was hoping the pair of you would come down personally to speak to Fluttershy, I think it would be better for her to hear it from you rather than Rainbow Dash. If you can make it please come down to her house as soon as possible, thank you and again…” Rarity stops for a second to regain herself, “I’m sorry for your loss,” She then puts the phone down, sighing heavily she turned around and walked towards the front door. “I really need to get some fresh air…” Rarity said to herself as she opened it up. However, she wasn’t expecting anyone to be outside. Looking up she saw Applejack and Fancy Pants, Applejack had her hoof in the air like she was about to knock, “Oh? Applejack? Fancy Pants? What are you two doing here at this time?” Rarity would have never thought these two together. “Well, we would have actually been here sooner if that pink party pony wasn’t so persistent on throwing me a welcome to Ponyville party,” Fancy started as AJ nodded at his statement. “Sorry we’re here so late, I’m glad we didn’t wake you up. Right now, I really need to make sure Fluttershy is okay?” Rarity rolled her eyes and mumbled, “Why is everypony suddenly so interested in Fluttershy lately,” She said quietly as she opened the door wider to let the two ponies inside, “Yeah, she’s fine darling. Why do you two come all this way for? “ She smiled softly at them, “Well Fancy and I was settling in for the night when we heard screams, nothing like I’ve heard before. I was curious and decided to go see what it was only to stumble upon a pool of blood,” Applejack said which caused Rarity to gasp slightly, “I then mentioned that it was just a single pool with some feathers scattered in and around it, these feathers happened to be yellow and the only pony that came to mind when AJ thought of yellow feathers was Fluttershy,” Fancy said which causes Rarity to place a hoof at her chin to think, "I don’t think she went to the farm today, she didn’t mention anything about it,” Rarity then closed the door to keep the heat in, “As far as I’m aware she went to her parent's house for the day and came home. A little over 3 hours ago,” “When she came home today, did you notice if she was missing any feathers?” Applejack asked her as Rarity shakes her head, “None at all?” “Applejack darling… I don’t just look at her feathers you know,” Rarity said as she chuckled lightly at her, “She’s got other features that I tend to look at,” She flicks her mane slightly, “But no, I didn’t notice any because she has to have her wings bound to her body,” Fancy Pants cleared his throat at Rarity’s comment, “Well… That does rule out our fear that your friend has been hurt dear,” He said as Applejack turned around to nod at him in agreement, “Thank Celestia for that,” Applejack then turned back to face Rarity, “I’m sorry that we wasted your time Rarity,” Rarity then shakes her head, “Nonsense darling! You wanted to make sure a friend was alright and not in any trouble, I don’t see any issues with that,” Rarity couldn’t help but yawn, “I.. I really should get some sleep, I’ve got some things that I need to do tomorrow, do you guys mind?” “Not an issue, thank you for clearing things up Rarity,” Fancy said as he and Applejack walked to the door, Rarity opened it for them, “We shall catch you later?” “Goodnight you two, have a safe journey back to the farm,” With that, the two leave Rarity alone as she closes the door. Locking it up she couldn’t help but smile lightly. She can now finally head back up to Fluttershy and fall asleep with her, The following morning, Fluttershy had trouble getting comfortable as she tossed and turned in her bed. Groaning that nothing was working. She knew she had to get up, but she didn’t want to, however, the sun had different plans. A bright beam shines upon the pegasus practically blinding her. She quickly threw the covers over her head as she blocks the light, she just wanted to head back to sleep, this was all in vain as when she got comfy she could smell smoke and something burning, ” What’s burning?!” Fluttershy asked herself, With quick movements, she jumped out of bed and darted out of her bedroom. She was galloping through the hallway, she has never had to move so fast in her life. She reached to the top of the stairs which gave her a clear view of the kitchen. Her fear turned into relief as she saw Rarity and Sweetie Belle, she had completely forgotten that Sweetie Belle was coming over to cook them breakfast, “I’m I doing it right Rarity?!” Sweetie Belle called out, her voice breaking when she said her sister’s name, this made a small smile appear on Shy’s face, “You’ll get there Sweetie Belle, you’re doing well,” She chuckled at her as Fluttershy made her way down the stairs to greet them, Just as she reached the bottom she heard another voice, “I’m sure you’ll get the hang of cooking soon little one,” Fluttershy stopped in her tracks, “Whatever you cook for us I’m sure it’ll be lovely,” “Thank you, Mrs Shy!” Sweetie said, her voice cracks again, Fluttershy soon entered the kitchen to see that her parents had come over and were located at the island waiting on their breakfast, “Mom? Dad?” Fluttershy started as they turned around to see her, Rarity joined in as she looked over at her, “What are you doing here? If you don’t mind me asking,” “Your friend invited us over for breakfast as your mother and I need to speak to you about something important,” Mr Shy said, “But, I do want to get some food down me first,” He then looked at his daughter which prompted a quiet whimper to escape her lips, “Rarity? Can I have a word, please? Outside,” Fluttershy said, gritting her teeth. Rarity nodded at her and made her way towards the pegasus, “Thank you,” She walks out of the room as Rarity turned to face Mrs Shy, “Do you mind just watching over her while I just step outside?” Rarity asked Mrs Shy, she got a small nod in return from the older mare, The two leave the kitchen and made their way into the living room. Far enough so that the three in the kitchen couldn’t hear them, Fluttershy looked at Rarity, slight rage fueled her, “Why did you invite my parents over?!” She said with her teeth clenched, “I’m sorry darling, but they have something really important to tell you and it has to be face to face,” Rarity started, “They called last night and left a message that they wanted you to go back to Cloudsdale. I called them back up and offered them to come here instead,” Rarity lied, she couldn’t slip up, “I can’t believe you didn’t wake me up and tell me though,” Shy looked to one side, “I would like to know these things before I come downstairs and mess up,” Fluttershy said to her as she looked back, seeing Rarity nodding at her, “Like, I wanted to come down and kiss you, but now I can’t cause they’re here,” “Your parents really shouldn’t stop you from kissing your girlfriend, they aren’t always going to be around us you know,” Rarity said as Fluttershy sighed, “Listen, I need to ask you a question,” “What is it?” Fluttershy asked as Rarity began levitating her phonebook towards them, Fluttershy watched it fly over, “What are you doing with that? “I thought you cut off all communication with your ex,” Rarity started as she flicked open the book, “While trying to find your parents number I discovered you’ve still got her number, “Rarity, I did. I haven’t spoken to her in over 2 years,” Fluttershy said as Rarity shows her the page, “Then why is her number still in your book?” Rarity was hammering her with questions, “You better not be lying to me, if you did cut off contact with her, you wouldn’t keep her number!” Rarity throws the book down, “Rarity please, I don’t want to start an argument with you. I don’t use my book anymore, I remember the numbers since I don’t have many contacts,” Fluttershy said as she picks it up off the ground, “You’re getting angry over nothing,” “I’m getting angry because you lied to me!” She said as Fluttershy shakes her head, “Please, calm down, I’ve had no contact with her, I promise,” She places a hoof on her shoulder, “You don’t need to be jealous over somepony who isn’t even in my life anymore, she’s my ex, and your my girlfriend and I love you. Okay?” Rarity’s ears flattened as she let out a heavy sigh, “I’m sorry…” She looked up at her, “I don’t know what got into me,” She places her hoof on her forehead, “I love you too,” Fluttershy pulls her into a hug and plants a kiss on her lips, “I’m sorry for bringing her up… Just as soon as I saw her name, unwanted memories came back to me on how you were acting when you were with her,” “I know my past with her Rarity… I’m ashamed of it, Tree Hugger told me that I’d be in a better place if I joined her and yes, I did abuse drugs but since then, I’ve become a much better pony now,” Rarity gave her a soft smile before giving her a kiss, “I’m happy to see you as that better pony, and not as… What she made you…” Just then they hear something smash against the ground, it sounded like some glass, “Oh! I’m sorry Fluttershy!” The two heard Sweetie Belle call out, resulting in Rarity chuckling at her sister before walking back into the kitchen to investigate, ” What in Equestria just happened? Why was Rarity acting like that? Okay, that maybe our fault, but I’m not complaining that was super hot how she did that. How is it our fault? Well, you remember when we had that steamy make-out session with her last night and that I bit her? I kinda… Sorta… Maybe… Turned her. You turned her?! Not fully! Just enough to become your very possessive, sexy vampire slave. Slave?! You’re not able to control her yet, but yes she’ll become like that when she thinks her status as your number one is in danger. But she’s my girlfriend, of course, she’s my number one, It also makes her ten times more hotter. She was already hot!” Fluttershy soon ended her mental battle as she saw Rarity and Sweetie Belle walking out of the kitchen, “Hey, Fluttershy? You can go see your parents now,” Rarity said to her as she nodded, “Thanks,” She smiled at her as walked into the kitchen only to see her mom cleaning the dishes and her dad were reading a newspaper. She walked over towards the island and sat down across from her dad, “So, Mom? Dad? What did you want to talk to me about?” Mrs Shy turned around to face her daughter, “Fluttershy…” She started as she made her way towards her husband, taking a seat next to him, “I don’t know how to tell you this…” “Tell me what? Mom? Is everything okay?” “What your mom is trying to say is that this is about your brother,” Her father said, looking up from the newspaper, “He was found dead in his room,” He stared at Shy, “Rainbow Dash discovered him,” ”Oh no, such a shame! He had such a tasty personality!” Fluttershy stared blankly, “Oh no…” Is the only words that Fluttershy had managed to say, she didn’t know how to react… How to normally react in a situation like this, “Seriously?” “Yes… I know this is hard to take in…” Mrs Shy said as her husband pulls her close with his wing, “The guards are looking into it as this very moment, the house is on lockdown so… Any chance we can stay here until we can head home?” “Yeah of course….” She said, “So… He’s gone? Like gone, gone?” Fluttershy asked as her parent's nod, “ It’s a real shame now is it Fluttershy?” “That friend of yours, the unicorn? Said that she’ll offer you any emotional support if you require it. She’s a good friend, you better keep onto her,” Mr Shy said, “I’ve taken the liberty to contact Dumbbell, he’ll be here around lunchtime to help you through this,” “Lunchtime?... Oh no, I have an appointment then… You’ll need to call him and cancel…” Fluttershy said as she claps her hooves together slightly, “I most certainly will not cancel him! If anything is going to be cancelled its that appointment!” Mr Shy said to her, “Your brother has been brutally murdered! I can’t believe you’d think about leaving what's left of your family! What if the murderer comes after us?! Our blood will be on your hooves! You’re staying in with your mother and I,” He shouted as Fluttershy whimpered, It so happened that Rarity was eavesdropping on their conversation, “But dad… This is an important appointment… It’s about my wings,” She said as her father slams his hoof against the counter, causing the shy mare to flinch, “That is enough! I don’t care about that! You’re not leaving this house and that’s final!” Fluttershy let out a yelp, “Now! Head to your room!” “Dad? I’m 20 years old… You have no real power over me… And you can’t really tell me what to do…” “I most certainly well can! Now go!” He shouted, Fluttershy scoffs at him and gets down off the chair she was sitting on and walked out of the kitchen with her head lowered, ” What the fuck?! Are you seriously listening that that dickhead?! I can’t fight him… I’ll lose… Oh! Not if I take over!” Fluttershy stopped in her tracks as she stepped out of her parents view, her legs began to violently shake as she felt the feeling of something taking over. She wobbled, falling to her knees she stared down at the ground, ” No… Stop…” She soon felt a hoof on her shoulder, “Fluttershy?” It was Rarity, “Hey, Fluttershy are you okay?” “I hate him so much,” She said as she gritted her teeth, “Come upstairs with me?” “Yeah, certainly,” Rarity said as she helped her onto her hooves, “Let’s head up,” The two then head upstairs, ” He’s going to wish he was never born!!”