Full Dark
A Collaboration between JustImagine and IceboxFroggie
One
Fluttershy felt heavy breathing on her neck. She wheeled around on her hooves, pretending to be ready to fight. She didn’t want to fight, though. She never does. But that time, she really didn’t want to fight. Every fiber of her being was screaming in agony, telling her not to turn around, but to run as fast as she could. What was behind her?
She completed her turn. A black figure was standing there. It was the size of an average stallion, and it was completely black, save for its eyes. Its beady eyes. They shone white, like pearls. It opened its mouth to speak. Fluttershy saw that its teeth were jagged, and set at angles. How it bit down and didn’t cut its gums up was a mystery to Fluttershy. And then she saw the foals.
Around the thing’s hooves were foals. There were colts, fillies, pegasi, unicorns, earth ponies, big ones, small ones, and everything in between. Fluttershy recognized a few. She saw Scootaloo’s orange coat and fuschia mane, Silver Spoon’s glasses, and Featherweight’s camera around his neck. There they all were, lying in a heap. There was at least fifty of them. Then, Fluttershy realized where she was.
She was in her home. She could see her couch, her kitchen, her table, her pictures, her bookshelf...everything. But it wasn’t hers. Everything in her home had been replaced by an exact copy. How she knew, why she knew was a mystery. But she knew. Somehow, she knew. She knew.
“Do you like what I did with the place?” the black figure finally asked. “I thought it could use a fixer-upper, so I fixed it in the only way I know how!” He laughed maniacally. Glasses shattered, mirrors cracked, and windows broke in Fluttershy’s cottage.
The figure stopped laughing. It wiped a tear from its eye, still giggling. “Oh, sometimes I crack myself up.”
Fluttershy tried to scream, but couldn’t. Her mouth was dry, and her voice had taken an extended vacation. The figure laughed again. “What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue?” He laughed again. Fluttershy couldn’t really appreciate his sense of humor.
The figure calmed itself down again. “Now, I have a little...thing to tell you. Seeing as how you can’t speak, it should be easy! Now, listen, and listen close.” He disappeared, only to reappear seconds later in a flash of smoke. “Pretty soon, you’ll be getting a visit from a very important draconequus. And, and he will want you to stop me! So, what I suggest is…” His face formed into that of a spider. Its pincers were long and dripped a black ichor that sizzled when it hit the wooden floor of Fluttershy’s cottage. “...I suggest that you stay away,” he threatened, his voice becoming raspy, hoarse, and harsh. He laughed again. He started to back away from Fluttershy until his figure retreated back into the shadows of Fluttershy’s cottage.
Jolting herself forwards, Fluttershy woke up in a cold sweat. Her pillow was damp with moisture. Her hair stuck to her face in clumps. She could hear her rapid, panicked breathing. It was then she realized that it was all a dream. Her frantic breathing became calmer as Fluttershy calmed herself down. It was then that she also realized that she needed to get ready. She had a breakfast with her friends to attend to, after all.
She put one yellow hoof in front of the other and clambered out of bed. She trotted into her restroom, thankful to see her mirror completely intact. She proceeded to carry out her morning routine, ending with washing and combing her hair. She walked downstairs and saw Angel, stamping his foot hurriedly.
“I’ll get you something to eat, Angel. Don’t worry,” she said, moving into her kitchen. She fixed him a salad, complete with lettuce, tomatoes, and carrots. “Here you go, Angel,” she said, handing him the green bowl she prepared his meal for him in. “A salad, just for you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go feed the others.” She rushed outside and started to feed her animals. Bears, gophers, and birds all needed meals this morning, not to mention all of the other animals near her home. After she was done doling out today’s daily ration, she told Angel and Harry to keep an eye on things while she was gone.
Time for breakfast.
Today, she would meet the girls at the Ponyville Cafe. Sure, the name was cliche, but it worked for the purposes of telling the denizens of Ponyville what the fine establishment was for and where it was. Actually, Fluttershy didn’t like the name. She thought it should describe the theme of the place, which was a mother’s kitchen. She thought it should be called The Lyricalia Kitchen. She opened the mahogany door to the restaurant. She spotted her friends’ table as soon as she walked in. The rainbow mane at the table made it hard to miss.
“Howdy, Fluttershy!” Applejack welcomed. “Come on over. We gotcha covered. Ordered a petunia sandwich and some water.” A patron wearing a suit shushed her rather harshly. Applejack’s cheeks went a bit red. “Sorry, partner,” she apologized. The patron grunted in response. Fluttershy made her way over to the table her friends were sitting at.
Twilight was talking with Pinkie. She wore a confused expression on her face, like she didn’t understand what Pinkie was saying. Pinkie threw her hooves in the air. “So, you still don’t understand the concept of donuts and donut holes cancelling each other out?” Twilight shook her head in response. Pinkie sighed. She perked up when she saw Fluttershy.
“Oh, hiya, Shy!” she said, eliciting more scolding from the other customers.
“Hi, Pinkie,” Fluttershy said.
Rarity was taking a sip of water. She took the straw she was using out of her mouth to say hello. “Hello, darling,” she said.
“Hello, Rarity.”
“Hi, Fluttershy,” Twilight greeted.
“Hi, Twilight.”
“Hey, Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash mumbled. She sniffled.
“Hi, Rainbow. Listen, I know Scootaloo going missing has taken its toll on you.”
“How could it not? She’s my adopted daughter, for Celestia’s sake!” True. Rainbow had officialized their relationship by filling out the adoption papers.
“Shhhh!” more patrons scolded.
“Oh, can it already.” Her attention shifted back to Fluttershy. She sniffled again. “I miss her, y’know?”
Fluttershy placed a hoof on Rainbow’s back. “I know, Rainbow. I know.”
“I wish...I wish we could do something, y’know?”
Fluttershy remembered seeing Scootaloo her nightmare, amongst the bodies of the foals. “Pretty soon, you’ll be getting a visit from a very important draconequus. And, and he will want you to stop me! So, what I suggest is...I suggest that you stay away,” she heard a voice say.
“Fluttershy, are you okay?” Twilight asked. “You look pale.”
Fluttershy snapped out of her trance. “Huh? Oh, I-I’m okay. Where w-were we?”
“Well, sugarcube,” Applejack said, “you started mumblin’ somethin’ about ‘staying away.’ Whatd’ja mean by that?”
“Nothing,” Fluttershy said. “Just...just thinking out loud.” She laughed nervously. What happened in the next few seconds, Fluttershy would not understand how it happened until about three weeks later. She was teleported. She noticed the tall buildings and spires and recognized the Canterlot skyline almost immediately. She also recognized the tall, part-dragon, part-pony, part-bat, part-everything-under-Luna’s-moon draconequus almost immediately.
“Hello, Fluttershy,” Discord said. “Do you think you could do the Princesses and I a favor?”
“Um…”
“Thanks, sweetheart. Really appreciate it. Anywho, we have a bit of a problem.”
“Well, I…”
“I’m sure you’ve heard about all of the foals who have been kidnapped, right?”