//------------------------------// // Fluttershy 3 - Survive // Story: Dawn of a New World // by KingBrony //------------------------------// "You feeling okay, Fluttershy?" Pinkie Pie bounced in the snow, seemingly impervious to its cold effects. Fluttershy paid no attention, however. It had been about a week since she first had that dream. Every time she slept it was the same thing, over and over again. By the seventh night, she didn't want to rest at all. The three had made it far north in a good amount of time. From what she saw, Fluttershy could tell she was far outside of Equestria's safe boundaries. Animals and other creatures populated the snowy landscape; some were small and ran at the sound of the ponies walking along, but others were big and menacing. Discord was able to save the ponies from a bear attack by distracting the hungry animal. Discord always seemed as if he were enjoying a game. With everything that happened, the draconequus simply laughed and snapped his fingers. Sometimes he would be gone for hours at a time, leaving the ponies to fend for themselves. He would show up again just as quickly as he left. This was one of those times. Discord was nowhere to be seen, leaving Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie stranded in a small cave in the midst of a blizzard. Neither knew where the other draconequus were, so traveling was not an option. Fluttershy managed to get a small fire going as Pinkie jumped around for warmth. With Rainbow Dash gone, and the other girls scattered, Pinkie Pie had changed. Fluttershy could see traces of the old Pinkie Pie as she jumped around and would talk for hours and hours. However, something just felt different. For one, Pinkie's tail was not as poofy as it normally was. Her mane was slightly darker than normal as well. However, whenever Fluttershy would ask about it, Pinkie Pie would always respond the same way: "What are you, crazy!? I'm fine, silly!" Pinkie would say with a twitching smile. After a few hours and no sign of Discord, Fluttershy felt hungry. The basket of fruit Discord had was all gone now, leaving the pegasus to go in search of something to eat. "Wait here, Pinkie Pie. I'll be back, okay?" "Okie Dokie Lokie!" Pinkie Pie said with her forced smile. She just stared at Fluttershy as the pegasus slowly backed out of the cave, laughing awkwardly. I know I've done some bad things ever since the meteors...but there is something wrong with Pinkie Pie too. Are we all going through the same thing? Fortunately, the blizzard did lighten up, leaving Fluttershy able to forage for food somewhat safely. Securing the saddlebag, she flexed her wings and flew to avoid touching the cold snow on the ground. The cold snow that fell seemed to pierce her wings like spikes, but Fluttershy kept flying so her wings wouldn't freeze up. She didn't want that to happen, especially if she were in danger. Who am I kidding? I'm in danger right now! Fluttershy found a small valley covered in trees and rocks. The pegasus dropped right next to a large tree and took a look around. Nothing dangerous here. She began walking around in search for something to eat. Something to eat... The pegasus remembered the taste of that rabbit she ate a while back. It was so different, so...tasty. Since then, she managed to eat three fish, another rabbit, and almost killed a deer, but it ran away. Fluttershy knew she had changed; she was no longer the scared pony she was before. She was no expert like a dragon or a Manticore, but she knew how to go for blood. Fluttershy spotted a small bush filled with crystal berries. "They grow all the way up here?" the pegasus said out loud as she scooped up as many as she could into the bag. As she did, another bush rustled right behind her, prompting Fluttershy to jump up and squeak. "I-Is somepony there?" She called. A few seconds passed and the bush rustled again. A stallion jumped out, covered in fur. He was carrying a spear and had a weird look in his eyes. "It's been a long time since I saw another pony." He said as he lowered his weapon. The stallion had purple fur and a black mane. Fluttershy couldn't see his cutie mark. Fluttershy smiled. "Oh, hello!" "What are you doing out here?" The stallion snapped. He looked hungry. "I'm just...looking for food." Fluttershy said quietly as she hovered in the air. "Me too." The stallion responded. He raised the spear again. "We can help each other find some! Do you know the area?" Fluttershy said with a weak laugh, slowly backing away from the stallion. She didn't like where this was going. "I think you can help me out, yes." The stallion said, inching toward the pegasus. Fluttershy gave a weak laugh again before turning and flying as fast as she could. The stallion ran right behind her. For a pony running in the snow in cold weather, the stallion was very fast. Fluttershy tried flying faster, but the cold air prevented her from doing so. She then felt something pierce her wing. It was much more painful than anything she experienced, besides Gilda's talons digging into her hooves. The pegasus had a second to look at what hit her before she fell to the ground. The stallion had thrown his spear and hit the pony right in the center of her right wing. Tears formed in Fluttershy's eyes as her wing twitched. The impact caused the spear blade to snap off the wooden handle; her wing was impaled on the handle as the spearhead lay next to her face, covered in blood. As the stallion approached, Fluttershy hid the spearhead with her mane. The pony hovered over Fluttershy and laughed. He placed his front hooves right on Fluttershy's right wing. The pain coursed throughout all of her body. The stallion then gripped the spear with his mouth and pulled. It hurt even more than the initial blow. It didn't budge at first. "I've been living up here for quite a while now." The stallion said as he tried to pull it up again. His words were a little distorted, but Fluttershy could make out what he was saying. "Before your Equestria fell to pieces, I was a member of the royal guard. I got lost out here during a search party for the Crystal Empire, my soldiers and I. We ended up wandering well outside the boundaries. Our food grew short, and...well, let's say my comrades helped me survive this long." He chuckled again. "Please...let me go." Fluttershy weakly said. The stallion placed one of his hooves right on the back of Fluttershy's neck, digging her face into the snow. He noticed the cuts and scars on the pegasus, causing him to laugh again. "I have a feeling this isn't the first time something like this happened to you...but I'll assure that this'll be the last...maybe I'll have a little fun before I-" The spear came out of the wing at this point with some force, causing the stallion to flinch back. The stallion looked shocked as he noticed that the spearhead was missing. Taking advantage of the situation, Fluttershy gripped the spearhead in her mouth and lunged at the stallion. Her wing hurt and bled profusely, but her adrenaline was running. Fluttershy managed to get him right in the neck, sinking the spear deep into the flesh of the pony. He dropped the spear handle and gurgled as blood spilled from his mouth and neck. The stallion didn't go down, though. He managed to get one hoof up and ram it right into Fluttershy's injured wing. She yelped as she backed off. The stallion pulled the spearhead from his neck and spat at the ground. The white snow was stained red all over the place as he inched closer to Fluttershy. "You were an inch off..." He said breathlessly. "A little closer and you would have severed my artery...you need to be more precise to survive, girl!" He leaped into the air and tackled Fluttershy to the ground. His blood spilled all over Fluttershy as she cried. "I'm going to have fun with this one!" THWACK. The stallion flew right off of Fluttershy. Behind him stood Pinkie Pie, holding the spear handle in her mouth. He dropped the blade right in front of Fluttershy, who picked it up and jumped onto her prey. Fluttershy stabbed the stallion in the heart once. "HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT!?!?" She cried as she removed the blade and stabbed him in the face, then in the neck, and in the heart again, and once more in the face. She continued to slide the blade in and out of the flesh as quickly as she could before Pinkie Pie pulled her off. "Let go!" The pegasus twitched her head and sliced Pinkie Pie right on her hoof. "OW!!!" Pinkie Pie screamed as she jumped back. Fluttershy immediately dropped the spearhead and cried again. "Pinkie Pie! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" The pegasus approached her friend, but Pinkie Pie started to back away. Luckily, the cut was nothing more than a minor one, and Pinkie smiled once again. "You saved me!" Fluttershy cried as she hugged her friend. "How did you...?" "When I promised I would wait in the cave, I lied. I had one of my pinkie senses go off - a new one I never felt before! I knew something bad was going to happen, so I tried to follow you. After a while, I was going to turn back, but I heard voices! I ran to the source and saw the two of you struggling..." "Thank you!" Fluttershy cried as she hugged Pinkie Pie. The blood from the stallion stained both girls as well as most of the snow in the immediate area. The ponies turned to see what was left of the "royal guard". He was a mess: his face was unrecognizable and his furs were all stained red. Fluttershy didn't want to stare any longer and turned to return to the cave. Pinkie bounced along right behind her. Discord was waiting in the cave, lounging on a piece of meat. "Ah, you're back!" He said as the two entered the cave. "We're back?" Fluttershy said. "Where have you been!?" "Out." Fluttershy beamed at the draconequus, who began to laugh. "I went exploring to find my brethren. In fact, I found them...why are you covered in blood? Killed something else, did you?" "A pony." "Oh." Discord's smile went away as he saw Fluttershy staring with empty eyes. She was in no mood for jokes or tricks. She just wanted to go home. "The sooner we talk to them, the sooner we can return to Equestria and defeat the Sleipnir." Fluttershy said. She dropped her saddlebag next to the fire and pulled some berries out. Pinkie Pie helped herself as well. Fluttershy didn't care about the blood that stained her fur and mane, or her injured wing. She was in a mood to kill, and would kill Discord right then and there if she really wanted to. "Fine. Let's go." Discord said quickly. Discord led the ponies to where he said his fellow draconequus were in hiding. The path led right through the location Fluttershy made her kill. He's going to see everything. "Um...Discord?" She said in a meek voice. "Don't play coy with me! I see what you did here." Discord laughed as he looked at the bloody mess Fluttershy didn't bother to clean up. The stallion still lay on the ground, with the spearhead sticking out of him. Discord grew smaller and touched the metal. "You really did a number on him!" Discord said with a chuckle. "I didn't expect you to be able to do this, honestly. I always expected Pinkie Pie to be the one who would gut a pony." Discord grew to his original size. Fluttershy did not respond. She didn't care. "I wonder who knows he's gone? Out here, in the middle of nowhere..." Discord's voice grew faint as he continued on. Fluttershy just stared at the body, feeling the life that was there slip away. No...he was going to kill me! I had to! I had to survive.