//------------------------------// // A Demon Amongst The Shadows // Story: Nothing But The Paranormal // by Unidentified //------------------------------// "Okay, the bandage is wrapped around your hoof. Does it feel better?" Fluttershy asked. Twilight moved her hoof around in little circles. "A little bit. It still burns though," Twilight replied. She looked over to the device which laid on top of a table, "You listened to the recording already, right?" "I've listened to a part of it," Fluttershy looked over to the device as well, "You couldn't hear it with your ears right? How was the device able to capture the voice?" "Well, you see there's a small external microphone on the device," Twilight used her magic to levitate the device over to them. She pointed to a small, round bud on the side of the device, "Because of how sensitive it is to sound, it's able to capture voices from beyond the grave. No matter how soft the voice is." "Oh, okay then. So, who do you think Charcoal is?" Fluttershy asked. Twilight placed the device back on the table and thought for a moment. Twilight tried her best to remember whether or not she knew anypony with the name. "...I'm not too sure. I'm still trying to answer that question myself," Twilight said. They both sat there for a while, stumped by the single question. They were both ready to give up when Twilight had realized something, "Wait! I think I remember seeing a pony named Charcoal in one of these books!" Fluttershy and Twilight turned to the books and began taking them off the bookshelves. They quickly skimmed through the pages, tossing the books behind them if the name wasn't there. They were 319 books in when Fluttershy told Twilight to stop, holding a book high in the air to signify she had found it. "Are you sure this is it?" Twilight asked. Fluttershy nodded in response. They both sat on the ground, Twilight observing the book in interest. "It's on page 101," Fluttershy said. She turned to the exact page in the book. Right there at the top of the page, the name Charcoal was given. Fluttershy pointed to one of the paragraphs on the page, "It says that Charcoal was a local resident of Ponyville many years ago. He had gone into the Everfree for a quick walk like he had always done every morning. When he didn't come home from his walk, friends and neighbors got worried. 24 hours had passed by since he was last seen before the town decided to find him theirselves. They searched all around the Everfree for Charcoal, calling his name as loud as they could. They searched for 5 hours before they finally gave up, assuming he had been mauled to death by an animal." "So his soul isn't at rest. They never found his body..." Twilight let that thought float for a bit. To still be missing all these years, no clue as to who or what killed him, it must have been painful. Twilight looked at the rest of the page, "How far in the Everfree did he usually walk?" "The book didn't say," Fluttershy said. "Are you sure?" Twilight asked. Before she could let Fluttershy answer, Twilight grabbed the book and skimmed the page. She flipped to the next page and the previous page and skimmed them as well, "Nothing..." "I already told you. The book didn't say." Fluttershy looked at all the books that were piled on the floor, "We should probably put these books back in their rightful spots..." "Alright, so we know a little more about Charcoal. But what about the other one?" Fluttershy asked. Twilight gave Fluttershy a confused look. "Other one? What do you mean?" "Have you already forgotten Twilight? You mentioned red eyes and a shadow." "Oh that..." Twilight shuddered at the thought. The way those eyes had stared at her through the windows, it was almost as if it was a whole different creature, "I'm not sure what it is or if it's even a spirit, but I'm just going to say it right now that this thing was evil." As soon as Twilight had mentioned the word evil, the temperature had dropped significantly. A light breeze passed through the library--despite the windows being closed. Papers were blown off the tables, scattering them everywhere. The two mares watched as the library began to grow darker by every passing second. After a while, the only light source left was a single candle on the floor. "Well isn't this something..." Twilight mumbled to herself as she picked up the candle with her magic. She looked around for Fluttershy, who she found was cowering behind a nearby table. Twilight and Fluttershy walked through the library, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. A few minutes had passed before Fluttershy had started to act strange. Twilight stopped and brought her attention to Fluttershy. "Is something the matter Fluttershy?" Twilight asked. Fluttershy looked in every direction, obviously distressed by something. "Do you hear the whispers?" Fluttershy asked. Twilight shook her head. Fluttershy was starting to get nervous, "I keep hearing somepony whisper in my ear but I don't know what they're saying!" "Don't listen to it then. It's just trying to scare you," Twilight said. She shifted her attention back on moving forward, Fluttershy slowly following behind. "Twilight..." A whisper had called out within the darkness. Twilight froze in her tracks, Fluttershy bumping into her as a result. "You heard it too didn't you?" Fluttershy asked. Twilight nodded. "That voice... I've heard it before..." Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight saw a shadow glide across the room. She quickly turned her head in it's direction, only to see complete darkness. "Was it the same one?" "Yeah..." Twilight looked around to see if she could spot the shadow again. Unfortunately, because of how dark it was that was impossible, "Hey, Fluttershy how about we go-" Twilight made the mistake of turning around and saw it. A distinct pair of red eyes replacing Fluttershy's own. "Go where? Outside? Just so you know, there is NO door that you can use to escape," Fluttershy said in a distorted voice. Twilight backed away from the possessed Fluttershy only to have her back against a wall, "What's the matter? Don't you like my new voice?" "You followed me home?! W-Who are you?! What did you do to the real Fluttershy?!" Twilight shouted. The possessed Fluttershy giggled. "That is none of your concern. Why don't we play a little game?" She said devilishly. "A game? What kind of game?" Twilight narrowed her eyes, certain this was some sort of trick. "I know that Spike is awake at the moment. If he comes downstairs and can figure out I'm not the real Fluttershy I'll leave." "And if he doesn't?" Twilight immediately regretted her decision to ask. The demonic Fluttershy gave off a smug look. "I'll kill you both instantly." The sound of footsteps echoed throughout the library, "Well, well. Looks like he's right on time."