Fluttershy’s shoulders shook as hot tears streamed down her face. She did not seem to notice the chilly night wind that bit into her flesh. She lifted her head back and sobbed, feeling a chilling numbness fill her limbs and enter her soul. A tree limb creaked and groaned in the wind above Fluttershy, but she paid it no mind.
It watched the yellow pony cry, feeling sadistic pleasure in her tears. She did not notice It, of course, since It blended in perfectly with the dark trees. She wiped her eyes with her foreleg and sat in silence on the cold ground. It watched with rapt patience, Its tentacles absently writhing.
Fluttershy stood on shaky legs, her eyes red and puffy from crying. She swallowed her sadness and started to walk into town. From the darkness of the forest behind her, Fluttershy heard the hiss of one of those terrible creatures from the cottage, and she squeaked in fear. Instantly, her mind summoned up images of Angel’s skinned skull and of the evil little faces on those monsters. Fluttershy took off running, not stopping until she reached Twilight’s house. It watched on from the shadows, delighted to have caused this little prey item more pain. The creatures were nowhere to be seen, but It had mastered the ability to mimic their hiss. It made the prey’s blood rush faster in their veins, their adrenal glands start to pump out hormones at a phenomenal. It made them all the more delicious. As It watched, It felt a massive, nearly uncontrollable urge to rip the yellow pony in half, but self-determination prevailed. She would have her time, as would all ponies in Equestria and beyond.
Fluttershy rapped on the door to Twilight’s tree several times. Her breathing was ragged as she looked over her shoulder. When the door finally squeaked open, Fluttershy’s heart jumped so hard that she thought it would explode. “H-He-Hello?” she stammered as she poked her head into the dark library. It seemed vacant, yet the door had obviously not opened by itself. Fluttershy took a cautious step into the house. In recent weeks she had learned to be extra wary when things did not seem to be the way that they should. Fluttershy’s senses were on high alert as she poked her neck further into the tree.
A pony sat in the skylight on the second floor. “T-Twilight?” Fluttershy asked. No response. “Twilight, i-is that you? I need someone to talk to, you know, if you’re not busy.” The pony turned to face Fluttershy, though their face hidden in the darkness. “You’ll never believe what happened to me,” Fluttershy said, her paranoia ebbing away. She started to walk into the library.
Sharp pain laced up Fluttershy’s hoof. “Agh!” she cried out as she lifted her hoof to her face. In the dim moonlight she saw a shard of glass protruding from her foot and dark blood running down her coat. She looked down and saw a broken picture frame of Twilight, Fluttershy, and all their other friends lying on the ground. Shards of glass had sliced the faces of the ponies to ribbons, except one. Fluttershy looked at her unmarred face in the picture, and looked up. The pony had left the window.
Fluttershy’s eyes widened as she backed up. She looked around, snapping her neck to cover the full area of the library. She saw nothing.
The next thing she knew she was flying through the air and slamming with bone-crunching force onto a shelf. Fluttershy groaned and felt one of her broken ribs painfully brush up against a lung. She looked up and saw a pegasus wearing a mask descend upon her, flying at full speed, hooves extended. Fluttershy screamed and rolled off of the shelf and hit the floor hard. The pegasi’s hooves slammed into the wood and broke it in half. Fluttershy shuddered to think of what would have happened if she had not moved when she had.
The pegasus turned and flew back up, bracing for another strike. Fluttershy stared at the pony for a few seconds before it started charging as it did so, Fluttershy rolled underneath the table and grabbed a wooden plank. The pegasus hit the wooden floor, and Fluttershy swung the wooden plank with all her strength. Adrenaline fueled her swing as it made contact, sending the pegasus sprawling. It moaned and struggled to get up. Fluttershy cautiously crawled out from under the table.
She took a hesitant step forward, limping from the glass in her hoof. She saw that the pegasus was alive, yet dazed. The mask hung loosely off of its face. “Now, let’s see who you are,” Fluttershy said, thinking aloud. She reached down and began to pull off the mask. She had just barely seen the first inch of the sky-blue coat when Rainbow Dash’s eyes flew open. “NO!” she roared and bucked Fluttershy hard in the chest. Fluttershy flew backwards, dragging the rest of the mask with her. Fluttershy looked into the face of her best friend and saw the emptiness in Dash’s eyes. She did not see the loyalty or courage of her friend. She saw darkness, and emptiness. She saw It there.
Dash sneered at her before shuddering violently from snout to tail. Her eyes widened further, and she took off, flying away into the night. Fluttershy watched her go, feeling crushing sadness at having potentially lost two friends in one night. She tried to lift herself up with her legs, but felt agonizing pain from her midsection where Dash had bucked her. She winced and felt tears come to her eyes as she gasped.
Fluttershy lifted herself off the ground, feeling only minor pain as she did so. She flew out the door and to the hospital. She knocked on the door, but no one would answer. She tried opening the door, but it was bolted shut. How odd, she thought. She tugged with all her strength, but her efforts only brought on a whole new wave of pain. She resigned to leaning up against the wall and waiting until the morning, when she might gain admittance.
It stalked silently through the trees. The wind had picked up, and now sent decaying leaves skyward. The branches rustled loudly, but It did not mind. It walked on, oblivious to most of Its surroundings. An apple fell off of a tree and fell towards Its hoof. A tentacle grabbed it and immediately squeezed it into a pulp.
It arrived at the small house and looked in. Three ponies, one yellow Earth pony, an orange pegasus, and a white unicorn all sat around a lantern, wrapped like mummies in blankets. They laughed, not realizing Its presence outside the window. “Cutie Mark Crusaders!” they all shouted before collapsing into fits of laughter. It stared at them in silence. It had chosen its next prey wisely.