//------------------------------// // Something feels...off... // Story: See no evil // by aegishailstorm //------------------------------// A man ran down a dark alley in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat despite the cold temperature. It had all started out as any Friday evening would have, he would arrive home from work, put away his things, grab a can of Mountain Dew from the fridge, and then plop down on the couch and watch TV until he drifted off to sleep. Usually at about this time, his roommate would come out from his room and welcome him back home, grab a snack, and then sit down to watch any one of their favorite shows. This all changed when he became a Brony, first came the posters, then the figurines, then the conventions. And it only got worse from there. He didn't mind however, as long as his best friend paid his half of the rent and didn't get pushy with the whole "join the herd mentality." he was pretty much ok with it. That would all soon change... He got home, went through his "routine" as with any other day, and sat down on the couch. Just then his friend came barging out of his room, laptop in hand. "Hey Fred, you've got to see this, they just released a new season of My little Pony! After all these years! take a look!" Fred groaned, "Jason, how many times have I told you, stop tryin' to make me a damn brony!!!, I will never watch that show!" I'm ok with you liking it, but remember what I said about getting pushy?" " Alright then, your loss." Jason said, before walking back into his room. As the night continued on, he began to hear strange noises coming from Jason's room. Which to be honest, was nothing out of the ordinary. However, that changed when at about 8:00 he heard a scream coming from Jason's room. He got off the couch, headed to Jason's room to check and see if he was alright. As he approached, he could swear he could hear what sounded like... Giggling? "Jason... You alright in there?" He asked. No response was given and so he continued to draw closer to the bedroom. Just before he could reach for the door handle, the door swung open. What he saw inside half horrified, half confused him. Pacing back and forth in the middle of the room was an all-pink unicorn with a big bright pastel smile on its face, he looked over at the bed to find Jason's clothes and laptop, in the middle of loading up what he supposed was that 'new episode'. He had been so excited over. "Wha, how?!" When the unicorn spotted Fred, his smile widened even more. "Hey there Buddy!" Fred immediately recognized its voice as that of his roommate. "Jason, Is that you?" "Who's Jason?" The unicorn asked, seeming perplexed." My name's Velvet Nova! I'm your best friend!" "Ummm..." "Come watch it with me, I promise you'll feel MUCH better after it! Trust me!" Said the unicorn, gesturing a hoof at the laptop. Fred looked at the laptop, then at the pink unicorn, then back at the laptop again. It barely took him five seconds to piece together where he believed his friend went. "I knew that show was trouble!" He turned to run but felt a tug on his back shirt. He turned back to see a yellow glow sounding it. "You've just got to see it!"Urged the unicorn again. That thing had grabbed him, with magic! Luckily, the magic's grip wasn't that strong, he was able to wrestle his way free from his former friend's grasp. He ran to the front door, put of his shoes on, and barely managed to slip his last shoe on before the unicorn was back. He threw the door of his house open and made a mad dash for his car. Fred reached into his pocket to grab his keys, only to realize that he had forgotten his car keys back inside. "Dammit!" He yelled out loud, his voice echoing down the street. He turned to left to run down the street but found the unicorn once again blocking his path, laptop levitating in the air next to it. "I promise you'll LOVE it!" The unicorn's voice cried in the distance. "Like hell I will! "Responded Fred, who turned rightward and sprinted as fast as he could. he ran down the street as fast as his legs could carry him. Until he came to a side street. "Finally, some luck! "He thought to himself. Turning into the side street he continued running. He could hear the sound of quick hoof steps on asphalt behind him. They were getting closer, and closer. "I'm never going to outrun him like this!" He jumped over a fence, ran through someone's backyard, then hopped the fence on the other side, finding himself in an a gloomy alleyway. "I think I lost him." "There you are buddy! " The voice of his friend shouted with an overtly disturbing amount of glee. "Crap." He continued running, and running, he turned into every side alley that he could find, but no matter how fast he ran. He could still here the hoof steps of his friend and his repeated shouts to stop for him.10 minutes pasted, then 20, and still that stupid candy colored horse kept pace with him. It was 55 degrees out that night, he could see his own breath in the night air, it was freezing outside, yet he was sweating like crazy. Finally, he collapsed on the ground, tired and exhausted. He shut his eyes as tightly as he could. He felt a hoof tap him on the shoulder. "You ok?" Fred heard his friend's voice say in a warm tone. "A-Aright, You want me to watch this show of yours, I'll watch it! "He spit out, cursing to himself. As he opened his eyes standing there was the pink unicorn, with a wide grin on his face. It set the laptop down on the ground, and pressed play with its magic. "Besides, how bad can It actually be?" The theme song played as always it always did. "My little pony, My little pony, ahhh.." 5 minutes later... "Wow, you were right, this show really is amazing!" He was so captivated by the myriad of light and colors on screen, that he didn't even notice the white fur beginning to sprout on his back, or the fact that his hair was slowly growing longer and turning a deep blue. The first episode ended and and the next episode began to play. "Sorry, I judged you man, you were right about this show all along-ARGGGGHH!!!!!" He collapsed to the ground in shock and pain as he noticed the white fur, and the wing's beginning to sprout on his back. Tearing through skin and rearranging his shoulder blades. "Don't worry, it'll be over soon, and you'll feel AMAZING when you wake up!" In his last moments of consciousness, he realized that he had fallen right for his frien-no, that creatures plan. His screams were all in vain, an soon faded into laughter and giggling. Echoing off into the night. With the same unsettling childlike joy. Meanwhile at Foundation Site 15...