Twilight was pulled back by Rarity and Fluttershy before she fell of the edge herself. Applejack however, closed her eyes as the monster enveloped another victim. Twilight began sobbing as four of her friends were already gone, and they were fighting a losing battle. A few short moments passed as sorrow took over the remaining ponies. However, the creature had not left. With a flash of lightning, the being appeared on the roof, casting an invisible aura of fear and terror. The ponies screamed and backed up, before stopping at the edge of the roof. The monster’s tendrils lashed out once more. In a selfless act, Rarity pushed Twilight and Fluttershy off the roof, allowing Fluttershy’s wings to gently ease their decent. “Aaaaaaeeeeee!”
Rarity screamed as she too was effortlessly taken into the monster’s grasp. The dark, black liquid that signaled the monster’s victory started to drip down the edge of the barn. Fluttershy’s eyes widened as Rarity was now gone. “Fluttershy, we have to go. Now!” Twilight said, pushing the pegasus forward. Fluttershy and Twilight started running, but Fluttershy looked back. Rarity’s black ink dripped from the roof, and she spotted where Applejack fell down to the monster. The creature was no longer standing on the roof, which somehow frightened Fluttershy more. But they just kept running...
The two soon arrived back at Twilight’s home, where they were the only two ponies left in Ponyville. “I-I can’t believe they’re gone...” Twilight said, shaking. “...and I don’t think there’s anything left for us...” She said, half-heartedly.
“What? We’re just going to give up, just like that? B-but what about our friends?” Fluttershy said.
“Fluttershy... there’s just nothing we can do. We don’t know anything about this thing, and it’s hunted us all down no matter where we run, and two ponies aren’t going to help anything. We can’t call Celestia and we can’t use the Elements of Harmony, our only fail-safe. I’m not even sure the Elements would work anyway...It’s only a matter of time before it gets to us...” Twilight said, sitting down as she accepted defeat.
“Twilight...” Fluttershy said. The yellow pony had never seen her friend so deep in despair, so pessimistic toward their inevitable future. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, friends stick together, even when things look bleak.” The unicorn turned back, her eyes seething with tears and angst.
“Look bleak?! Open your eyes, Fluttershy! Our friends are gone, there’s nothing we can to stop it, and it’s hunting us as we speak! You call this looking bleak!?” Twilight yelled. Fluttershy back up as she grew more scared of her friend. Twilight simply looked away sobbing, then galloped out the door.
“Twilight, wait!” Fluttershy called out. But Twilight had already vanished in the storm. Fluttershy had literally just said that friends stick together. What kind of a friend would she be if she didn’t live up to her word?
Fluttershy ran after Twilight Sparkle, the wind and rain obscuring her vision. “Twilight! Where are you?!” she yelled out into the storm. As she rounded a corner, she expected the worst. Unfortunately, she was right. The monster had its tentacles wound into a tight bundle, making the faint shape of a pony. The beast released its grasp, creating more inky black liquid. Then, it looked up at Fluttershy. It wanted to finish what it started.
But Fluttershy felt something other than fear welling up inside her. Something she tucked away for a long time, and now sprang forward in her mind. She became the Fluttershy nopony ever wanted to see. Angry Fluttershy. She lifted herself off the ground with her wings, her irises stinging a searing red. “You come into my town, take my friends, hunt us down like animals...” She hissed at the creature, letting her emotions flow forward. “... and expect me to give up without a word?!” The creature lashed tentacles around the pony, but bound her much more slowly, as if feeding off every ounce of her hatred. “Go ahead! Do whatever it is you do! I swear that you will never know a moment’s peace as long as-” Her sentence stopped there as she was entirely enveloped.
Fluttershy’s conscious mind had left her physical body. Her vision was nothing more than a dark void of any form of light or warmth. Her language was gone, too. Her thoughts and memories had completely vanished. She couldn’t even remember her own name. Hate. Fear. Pain. All of these things slowly settled around her, something stirred in the darkness. A small spark illuminated the void, and started pulling her in. The light felt warm and inviting, as it soon filled the spirits form. Then, everything returned in an instant. Love. Peace. Bliss. Fluttershy relived her entire memories in less than a second, as a voice echoed in the light. A familiar voice Fluttershy wish she would hear again. And it was calling her name.
“Fluttershy, wake up. Wake up.”
The pony slowly felt her physical form growing back, and found her eyes shut. Fluttershy opened her eyes.
Fluttershy found herself lying in her bed, back in Ponyville. The sky was no longer cloudy and her pet rabbit Angel sat by her side. But what she never felt more happy to see was Rainbow Dash at the foot of her bed. “Fluttershy, are you O.K.? You were out for quite a while.” she said. The yellow pony leapt from her bed, hugging Rainbow Dash while tears streamed from her eyes.
“Rainbow Dash! I had the most horrible dream! There was this tall, dark monster with tentacles that killed everyone! A-and you... you sacrificed yourself for me!” Fluttershy bawled, but Rainbow Dash stayed quiet. Fluttershy looked up to see her friend with a concerned look. “What’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked. Rainbow Dash separated herself from the hug.
“Fluttershy... I had that dream too... and so did the others. It was the exact same dream.”
Fluttershy gasped, standing up. “What? We all had the same dream? But why?” She asked, more confused than ever. “I don’t know. Twilight told Princess Celestia about it. From the way the princess reacted, she said...” Rainbow Dash swallowed hard as she looked toward the village. “...it might have been a warning.”
End...