Fluttershy wondered around the town square with Rainbow Dash and Rarity. They had just returned from a picnic with there other friends when black clouds began to appear above them, causing the trio to glance nervously at the sky.
"What the hell, I wasn't told about scheduled rain today," Rainbow protested. Fluttershy glanced around and saw many ponies closing shop or returning home. Rarity herself looked towards the direction of her boutique in worry.
"I should head back before the rain starts. Don't want anything happening to my dresses whilst I am gone," Rarity stated. Fluttershy became anxious. She worried for her animals who were home all alone.
"I should hurry back also. Angel will start to freak out if I am away when the storm hits," she explained. Rainbow turned to her and Fluttershy could see the aggravation on her face, clearly the unscheduled storm had stroke a nerve for her. Fluttershy didn't have time to dwell on this, she charged back to her hut and herded her animals inside. They all crowded round the front room, but when the rain and winds hit, they all began to shiver nervously. Lightening lit her hut and thunder shook the ground around her, the rabbits began to scatter and birds flew around frantically. Fluttershy tried her best to calm them down, but she had to agree that there was something un-natural about this storm. Suddenly, the sky darkened and something shot across the sky, followed by a path of the shadows. It approached the tree's in front of Fluttershy's hut, but she turned around thinking nothing of it and continued to comfort her animals.
BOOM!!!
Fluttershy's whole cottage shook from impact. Her initial response was to retreat into the corner of the room and cower with her animals until the storm passed, but curiosity took her over. She slowly approached the window which faced the forest and peered through. First off, she couldn't see anything outside of the window, until a flash of lightning lit the sky and the outline of pitch black pony perched at the entrance of the forest appeared. She watched curiously as the mysterious figure stumbled forward. He slowly approached her cottage, and fear rose in Fluttershy causing butterfly's to stir in her stomach and she began to whimper. But, before the Stallion could get any closer, he toppled onto his side and remand motionless. Fluttershy stood still for a moment, until the storm cleared and she saw the pony was clearly injured.
Charging out the door, she approached the pony laying on the ground and checked him for damage. His chest was soaked in blood and his breathing was week. His leg muscles twitched every so often but other then that, he was completely still. She ran up the path looking for anypony that was out there.
"SOMEBODY HELP, PLEASE!" Fluttershy screamed. Almost instantly, Rainbow Dash rose above the cottages and scrambled towards her.
"What's wrong Shy?" Rainbow asked her concerned. Fluttershy didn't reply, she charged off, leading Dashie towards the fallen pony. On arrival, Rainbow Dash looked down in shock at the Pony on the ground. "Fluttershy, wha... what," she stuttered.
"I don't know. During the storm, something hit the ground in the Evergreen Forest. This pony stumbled out and just fell onto the ground. I ran out to see what happened and saw how bad of a state he is in," Fluttershy explained. Rainbow looked around and hovered off the ground nervously.
"Well, first things first, we have got to deliver him to the infirmary," she stated. She began to lift his legs from the ground. "We need some help with him, I don't think the two of us will be able to carry him. I'll get Twi and see if she can help us," She stated. Before Fluttershy could say anything in protest, Rainbow shot off in a blur. Fluttershy peered down at the pony in worry, wondering what could of happened to him cause this. He didn't appear to have any signs of burn damage, so he couldn't of been hit by lightning. No where appeared to be terribly bruised, so nothing fell on him during the storm. Surprisingly, Fluttershy came to the conclusion that all the cuts appeared to resemble sword wounds. Before she could investigate the wounds further, she heard voices in the distance. Rainbow flew up to her with Twilight trailing not far behind. Twilight froze when she saw the stallion and looked between the two of them.
"How did this happen to him?" She asked, not directed to just Fluttershy, but Rainbow Dash also.
"We have no idea, all we do know is that he is in a terrible state and needs to be treated right away," Rainbow explained. Twilight peered at Fluttershy who was only nodding frantically in agreement. Twilight looked down at her and shut her eyes in concentration. Her horn began to glow and a purple aura surrounded his body. He began to levitate off the ground, but the strain in Twilights face showed it wasn't easy. Rainbow hovered underneath to provide twilight with support and the three of them charged off into town.
As they made there way through town, ponies parted way to provide them a quick path. Many were about the great them, until they saw the pony they were supporting and glanced in worry. They arrived in the infirmary and Fluttershy approached the desk.
"Erm... excuse me," Fluttershy whispered. The Mare at the desk didn't notice her at first.
"Hey lady, a little help over here," Rainbow shouted abruptly. The Desk clerk looked up bored, until she saw the pony Twilight was now setting down on a bed. Her eyes widened and she shot down the hall calling names. After a few minutes, doctors ran down the hallway and whisked him away into a room.
After a short wait in the waiting room, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie arrived.
"Are you three alright? Word around Ponyville is that you all bolted through town holding an injured pony," Rarity questioned them in concern
"Yeah we are fine, but cant speak for the pony we were with, he is in there right now. We have no idea what happened to him, but Fluttershy found him stumble out of the forest and collapse right outside her door," Rainbow explained. The rest of them looked at Fluttershy concerned.
"You alright sweetie?" Apple Jack asked her. Fluttershy nodded in reply. She was still in shock about the whole situation that she didn't know what to tell her friends. She was still trying to process why the wounds looked like he had got into a fight. She was about to mention something when a man walked down the hall towards them.
"Hello, my name is Dr Whooves. You are the ponies who brought in the black stallion are you not?" He questioned Twilight and Rainbow.
"Yes, we are. But Fluttershy was the one who found him," Twilight explained.
"And good thing she did. His wounds were serious, also covered in some sort of toxin. It was slowly making its way to his heart but I managed to extract it before it did. He's skull was damaged, minor internal bleeding and many other problems that I do not have time to talk about, but surprisingly he is doing well. He is asleep, his body still needs time to recover but he should be awake shortly," he explained. The ponies looked at each other. None of them knew what could possibly cause such problems, no known monster in Evergreen would treat a pony like that.
"Do you have any idea how it happened to him," Twilight asked the question they were all wondering. The doctor shook his head in concern.
"I was going to ask you the same thing. Do you have any idea of who he is. Name, family, where he lives. Without any data it is difficult to narrow down the causes," he explained. Instantly, everyone looked at Fluttershy. She shrunk back in worry.
"I have no idea. I saw him stumbling towards my house and he collapsed just outside. I called for help and rainbow arrived shortly after. We whisked him off here and that is all that happened," Fluttershy replied with hesitation. Dr Whooves nodded and issued them to follow him down the hall.
Upon arrival, the six ponies peaked into the room at the stallion on the bed. He was covered in a sheet and was connected to many different wires, the majority of which connected to a heart rate monitor. They stayed in the room for a while talking, and waiting for Dr Whooves to return. Fluttershy sat there quietly looking at the stallion, when she started seeing his eye twitch.
"Guys," she said. They all averted there attention to her, and then at the pony in front of them. His heart rate began to level and he began to move slowly.
"Someone get Dr Whooves back in here," Twilight ordered.
"I've got it," Applejack stated. She charged out the room, and as she did, the ponies eyes slowly began to open.
The Dark Stallion Had Awoken