The Pale Condition

by Lazy_


Sundown in Beast-town

The sound of hooves clopping against the hard wood floor of the clinic turned suddenly more harsh, as their owner walked out from the clinic and into what seemed to be a small grave yard. Fluttershy wiped the lingering tears from her eyes as she looked around. She had started now, made her first impression as a hunter, there was no going back.

Stepping out into the yard, she noticed the sound of lumbering. Looking up to the streets above, there was a huge deformed pony with an executioner's axe patrolling back and forth through an alley. Luckily between it and her there was metal fencing and a sizeable drop, it wouldn't be able to get to her if it wanted to.

To her right, a locked gate awaited opening. Beyond looked like an alley leading behind the clinic, who knew where it went? The only option for her was an unlocked gate straight to her left. She headed on over and pushed it open, it's old hinges making life difficult for her. Once she had pushed the gates aside, she gazed upon the sight before her.

A great bridge spanned across a valley which was filled with what appeared to be burnt and half collapsed buildings. The valley continued forward out into open plains, the setting sun casting it's redish orange glow across the country side beyond. She eyed the great bridge. It stood across the valley, horizontal in her point of view and connecting to an area of humongous buildings to her left.

Turning away from the spectacle, she began walking up the wide road to her right as she noticed there was a crashed carriage at a crossroads further on. As she reached the crossroad, she could hear the sounds of breathing and hoofsteps. There was somepony to the left turnoff. Fluttershy peeked around the carriage to see another pony patrolling up and down the short road, carrying and axe and a torch. He turned as he reached the end of his patrol to come back, and he spotted the yellow fur and pink mane visible just around the corner. As he squinted to get a closer look at her, his trained beastly eyes picked out the odd foreign garb and un-Yharnam-like bright colours.

"Foreigner..." He whispered under his breath.

"Um... hello?" Fluttershy tried to act friendly, seeing nothing immediately threatening about him. Suddenly he began running at her, axe held high in the air. "Eep!" Fluttershy backed away from the upturned carriage as the weapon was readied for a swing.

"It's all your fault!" He yelled as the axe was brought down upon the tow bar where Fluttershy's head used to be, carving part of the carriage off like it was nothing.

"-Ok, Fluttershy...-" She began to think to herself "-It's obvious he's not in his right mind. And look at his legs, they're all long and the fur is going rough and grey like the... the... he's turning to a beast. You can do this.-"

Taking a deep breath, she stepped out in front of the beast-pony and his eyes darted up to meet her. His clawed elongated foreleg carrying his torch pulled back, ready to thrust the flaming weapon deep into her flesh.

"Burn..." He said quietly and sadistically as he began to wave the torch at Fluttershy. She ducked under, the flames catching the top of her mane. It took a moment for her to realise the stallion was still recovering from his attack, and she leaped at him, swinging her weapon wildly. The saw serrated it's way through his flesh and he flinched, staggering backwards before quickly regaining his composure. As Fluttershy approached him again he began to swing the axe from side to side, growling in a low in-equine voice. The attack was based on the assumption Fluttershy would walk into it, but she was paying far too much attention to simply walk into it. She waited until he stopped, as he realised his attempt to catch her off-guard had failed.

Which left him open for a counter attack. Fluttershy slashed at him, her attacks connecting and causing him to recoil in pain. He dropped his weapons to the ground as he staggered back, before dropping to his belly in agony. He reached out, as if trying to grasp at her one last time, before collapsing dead.

She stared at the stallion's body for a moment, in disbelief that she was doing this... but still, it had to be done. Didn't it?

Unfortunately, she had no time to contemplate. Two more deformed earth ponies at the far end of the road not far away had heard the commotion, and were climbing to their beastly legs. Both were wielding what looked to be large knives, like bayonets of some sort. Fluttershy was out of her element with just a single enemy, two was out of the question. Too much too fast.

She wasn't prepared to face two opponents at once. She looked around for a quick exit. The gate behind her which lead out onto the main street was locked shut, and if she headed back to the clinic they would just follow her and plan their attack. She had to get used to thinking fast on her hooves.

She noticed a lever in front of her, just poking out of a part of wall which jutted out. She then looked nearby, it had to work something close to it, surely...

"-Aha!-" She thought to herself, seeing a ladder held up on the wall about three times her height from the floor. Following it up, she saw it lead to a ledge at the top of the building. Wasted no time and spread her wings before taking off clumsily and heavily into the air, the blades of the converging half-beasts barely missing her hooves.

She noticed immediately how difficult it was to fly when weighed down by so many large metal and wooden items, and she strained her muscles to take her higher into the air. She was never a strong pony, and she could never fly very quickly. With all her equipment she struggled to fly in general. She went higher and higher as her energy was drained, eventually reaching the altitude of the roof. She lunged forward as her wings gave out, landing heavily and knocking air from her lungs.

"Get down here you coward!" She heard a mare shout from behind her, a comment which was promptly followed by a beastly snarls coming from a pony's body. Taking a few deep breaths, she picked her self up from the floor atop the building and tried to stretch her wings once more, noting they felt too tired from the exertion.

"Hmm. Maybe they would be better for making fast movements, like dodging. I'm too heavily loaded for flying." She said to herself.

Ahead of her was another lantern, useful. She walked over toward it and struck a pebble against the flint on it's frame. The spark ignited a flame inside and the lantern began to emit light. She felt the magic glow over her body as she took a moment to rest.

"Hello?" A masculine voice called out from seemingly nowhere. Fluttershy's head picked up like a bullet. "Is someone there? Are you a hunter?"

She didn't recognise the accent, but it certainly wasn't a Yharnam accent. The voice seemed to be coming from the building ahead of her, so she walked up to investigate. One of the windows, caged up in protection against the beast, had light streaming out from inside of it. And just outside of it, on the wall beside, was a small lantern which burned an incense. Fluttershy peered through the window, but couldn't see anypony inside.

"Hello?" She greeted anypony who could possibly be inside. She could hear the scuffling of movement, very close to her. It was definitely inside the building. She jumped back a little when a sickly looking stallion pushed himself up into view. Apparently he was leaning up against the wall below the window.

"Hehe, no need to be alarmed. It's just little ol' me, hehe." He said lightly, before beginning to splutter painfully. Being naturally caring, at least for those who haven't lost their minds and morals, she immediately took interest.

"Ooh, are you ok?" She asked, clipping her saw cleaver to her belt. The pony, who as she looked closer appeared to be a fellow pegasus, flipped up his ears and turned toward her with curiosity.

"My, my. Are you Equestrian?" He coughed. "Nice to see a fellow outsider every once in a while. And you're a hunter too... Never known a hunter as kind as you. To take interest in the sick in a way that doesn't involve trying to kill them." Fluttershy's eyes widened, shocked by the implications.

"But... hunters kill the beasts, don't they? Why would they kill a sick pony?"

Her question caused the pegasus to laugh, before descending into another short coughing fit.

"Ha! You must be new to the job, hmm?" He smiled as Fluttershy nodded. "Well, I should introduce myself. My name is Gilbert."

"Gilbert? That's more of a Yharnamite name, isn't it?" Fluttershy asked, confused to what to think of the accent and name combination.

"Aye, it is. See, I may have been born here, but I was moved away before I reached three. I lived in another country most of my life. I can see why my mother wanted to get away, maybe she saw this crap coming and decided to move out. Haha!" He laughed at his own joke. "Anyway, what about you?"

"I'm... Fluttershy. I came here to be cured of my cancer. I signed a contract that made me a hunter, though I didn't know that's what it was for..." She lamented on her own idiocy. Who signs a legal document without reading the print? She did. Apparently. "Now I'm stuck here."

"Ah. I too came here for the blood healing, though I never got the chance to visit a clinic. The hunt kicked in and I had to barricade myself in this dump. Can't be skulking around with those heavens prowling the streets." Gilbert coughed, breaking his sentence. "However until my illness takes me, I can be of informational use to a fellow outsider. Knowledge is power, as they say."

"Why don't we travel together?" Fluttershy suggested. "It might not be safe, but maybe we can find a safe refuge where you can stay."

"Hmm, I would Fluttershy. But I'd rather not risk catching a slither of the beast blood myself, as a hunter you are more resilient, but I fear I might fall to beasthood much sooner than you. I'd hate to burden you with my life, you have enough on your plate as it is. Besides this way I not only get to help you live another day, but I can die with my sanity and equinity intact."

Fluttershy nodded sadly, but in understanding of the stallion's choice.

"So... anything you want to know?"

Healing Church:
"The Healing Church... They started off as a small congregation of students and scholars who originally studied the arcane at the advanced school of Byrgenwerth. Bergenwerth was the institution to discover the Old Blood in the labyrinths below Yharnam, and after they discovered it's effects... well, let's just say they took to it a little more fondly than they should have done. A group of scholars led by the Unicorn named Laurence broke off from Byrgenwerth and betrayed their Master's ideals to found the Healing Church. They released it to the public as a miracle cure which cured any ailment, which it did."

"Then they became the most powerful group for miles, as they were the ones producing and distributing more and more of the blood. Nopony knows exactly how they produced so much of the stuff, but we do know they did have blood 'Saints'. Ponies, usually mares, who had been infected with the old blood. Once infected, the blood becomes your own, meaning your body produces it alongside your normal blood. Blood Saints were used on a small scale, usually by members of the Church."

"After the first reports of beasts in Yharnam, it was discovered that the Old Blood was causing the spread of the condition know as 'Ashen Blood', which led to the 'Scourge of the Beasts'. The Church knew this, and created a special sub-section of members known as the Hunters of the Workshop. These were the first of your line of work, and worked by night to eradicate the beasts quickly and quietly. Though eventually the Ashen Blood spread the beasts to numbers to large for the Hunters to keep a secret any longer. Sightings of beasts, along with the blood-stained corpses of their victims became commonplace."

"Many were angry at the Church, blaming them and the blood for the outbreaks. The Church dealt with this well, disbanding the original Hunter's Workshop and setting up a brand new Workshop. A more official, publically known one, the Healing Church Workshop. The chief hunter, an earth pony Yharnamite named Ludwig, began employing other Yharnamites as hunters. This smart move removed most of the blame from the Church, as it looked like they were opposed to the scourge and did not intend for it to happen. It also increased their numbers, and for a long time the nightly Hunts kept the beasts at bay..."

"But after a while, the beasts grew stronger, faster, and those that used the elements grew more potent abilities. The Healing Church Hunters could no longer stop the spread of the scourge. All Tartarus broke loose. Beasts ran rampant, and whole families were being slaughtered by the hundreds. The Church decided Yharnam could no longer be saved and set it alight, gathering their hunters inside their home-base of Cathedral Ward and shutting Yharnam out, abandoning it. They cowered in their fort, leaving what is now called Old Yharnam to burn to the ground on that moonlit night."

"And since then, Yharnam has been what you see now." Gilbert pondered for a moment, searching his mind for any more information that could be useful. "That's it, I think. All I have to share." Fluttershy nodded, knowing their time to separate was close. "Oh!" He said, descending below the window as he began to rummage around in a bag. The metal 'chinks' echoed around the room as he discarded random objects. "Aha!" He suddenly exclaimed, as the rummaging stopped. There was a small coughing fit before his head re-emerged.

"What is it?" Fluttershy asked, curious. Gilbert brought up a bronze object, a small canister with a handle and trigger. On the opposite side to the handle was a pipe leading up to a muzzle, where some sort of lighter connected with the pipe.

"This is a Flamesprayer. One of the weapons the Healing Church gave their more experienced hunters. It sprays a cloud of flame wherever it's pointed." He offered it to her, and with gratitude, she took it and clipped it to her belt beside her pistol. "Some advice. A lot of beasts are deathly afraid of flame, and for good reason. All that thick fur's gotta' make them pretty flammable if you think about it. They burn like they were made to, so don't be afraid to set some of the larger ones alight if you need to."

"Thank you." Fluttershy said, short and sweet. Gilbert just laughed.

"Go on then, get outta' here. Good hunting Fluttershy." He said, twisting to put his back against the wall. He slid down to rest on the floor again as Fluttershy thanked him and walked away.

Taking in her surroundings, she noted the gate directly ahead of her. Like the one in the clinic graveyard, it was locked. Though for this gate she could see a lever on the other side which no doubt operated the gate. Her wings still hurt some, so she thought it best to avoid flying unless absolutely necessary. She turned around and headed back out to the lantern. There was another way at the other side of Gilbert's resting building. and it seemed to lead to a small bridge over a narrow street below.

She headed down a small set of stairs and turned right over the bridge. Looking out over the street she could see a huge bonfire at the far end where a beast was burning. Already dead by the looks of it.

She continued onward, coming to a rooftop with a gap in the left side fencing which led down to another bonfire. The drop was too far for her not to glide, however she didn't want to strain her wings anymore than she had to so she turned to head the opposite way to a selection of wooden boxes.

The boxes shattered as she approached them and splinters were sent flying her way. She covered her face until the last of the shrapnel had dispersed. Through it all she could hear stumbling and the 'swoosh'ing of a blade being swung through the air, giving her the impression of an ambush. She was right.

Another pony similar to the two she had fled from before talking to Gilbert finished swinging her knife for long enough that Fluttershy could get a good look at her. Seeing no difference, she assumed similar to what she had already seen. Not wasting any time, she thrust her wings back to propel herself forward into a dash, using the momentum as she came to a halt to swing faster. The attack was enough to kill the half-beast right out as the saw ripped through it's abdomen.

The beast-pony cried out with her final breath in dying agony as she collapsed to the floor. Fluttershy decided she could search the pony for anything useful, and find something she did. A small pouch of Quicksilver bullets which she put in her enchanted saddle bags. This way she could store any bullets she found and summon them at a thought if she had to. By the size of the bag she guessed she could fit around twenty bullets in it's total space. She also found two small vials of a dark red liquid. She immediately recollected the sight of the blood for the first time, figuring out it could be used as a method of healing as well as curing. She dropped the vials into her saddlebags.

Keeping that in mind she took out a bullet and loaded it into her pistol, so that it was ready for use at a moment's notice. She headed down a set of stairs behind where the boxes where to a right turn led to another area. There she spied two once sleeping half-beasts who both started to pick themselves up from the floor as she approached.

As much as she hated the thought of trying to fight two enemies, it seemed here there was no alternative. The only ways out were behind her and down a second set of stairs behind her opponents. Stairs which lead down onto the main street, where there were likely to be many more beasts waiting for her.

Taking a deep breath, she dashed forth with her saw-cleaver held high. She slashed down with her hoof pressuring the hinge's lever to allow the blade to flip up and extend the size of the weapon. The slash connected with the first, a knife wielder, the force of the blow staggering them and leaving them open. Though she was unable to finish her assault as the second half-beast charged forward with a shield covering their body.

Fluttershy dashed backwards to evade the charging foe, and as they realised she was out of reach they stopped to get a second's rest. She noted their lack of defence without the shield and thrust the transformed cleaver forward to slice into them some. They staggered back so that they were side by side with their compatriot. The two half-beasts gave each other a short glance before charging forward in an attempt to outnumber their attacker.

Fluttershy was at a loss as to what she should do. And in a blind panic she raised her pistol and fired at the shield user. The shield user was knocked back with the shot and collapsed weakly into a sitting position, almost begging to be counter-attacked. Fluttershy realised she could use this to her advantage all too late as a knife was slashed across her chest. She gasped at the sudden burst of pain and retaliated with a vertical lunge onto her attacker, leaning all her weight into the weapon as she fell forward. The mare was killed outright as the cleaver sliced through her shoulder and severed a number of arteries.

Fluttershy dropped her cleaver to the ground with a loud clatter as she fell into her own sitting position, clutching her chest wound and whimpering in pain.

"-...They say the 'Old Blood', as they call it, cures anything!-"

"-Hmm... I have to say darling, as disgusting as it sounds it might just be what you need.-"

"-Agreed. Hey Twi', ya' think it heals injuries too?-"

"-Huh? Don't be ridiculous! That's a difficult task even for magic, I highly doubt it can simply 'heal injuries'.-"

"-'Doubt', egghead. How do you know it doesn't?-"

"-I-It... just can't, okay? I've studied science for a long time, long enough to know that any sort of liquid straight up closing wounds is pretty much impossible!-"

"-Hey Fluttershy! You should bring back a couple samples, see if we can prove Twilight wrong for once, eh? Hahaha!-"

"Guh..." Fluttershy grunted as she conjured up a vial of blood from her enchanted bags. The vial had a syringe on one side, a tell tale sign of blood treatment. "Even if I didn't... I'd just bleed out anyway..." She held the vial syringe down over her thigh and prepared herself. "Here goes..." She stabbed herself with the needle and injected the fluid into her bloodstream, feeling the familiar cold sensation travel through her body. Looking at her chest, she noticed something startling.

The wound was actually closing! Blood stopped escaping her body as the skin and flesh healed up, even the fur was growing back. It had left a giant teat in her garb though, the cloak rarity had made obviously wasn't cut out for dealing with blades. She caught her breath and picked herself up, taking her saw-cleaver from it's resting place on the ground. She transformed it back to it's saw form for easy carrying and clipped it to her belt.

Fluttershy walked up to the railing at the side of the next set of stairs and peered around to see the main street a little better, her blood stained clothing hanging from her loosely at her chest. What she saw made her gulp in fear. She only just survived two enemies...

This looked more like an army.

It was obvious the main bulk of Yharnam's wandering half-beasts were patrolling through the main streets, and now she was seeing just how many there were. She suddenly got the feeling she might be needing a few more of those vials.


Fluttershy whirled around the corner to catch her breath. The first group of ponies shambling through the streets were proving to be tough, and she had been struck into her side by a pitch fork, a wound which was bleeding quite profousely. She knew the half-beasts would follow her, but she needed some time to take a short rest, even if only for a few seconds as any rest at all was preferable over none. Summoning a blood vial from her saddle-bags, she wasted no time in stabbing it into her thigh.

She felt the warming tingle on her ribs as the wounds closed and her body was healed as good as new. After flipping the bag closed, she took a moment to breathe before she heard the battle-cries of her final few foes closing in.

"-... No rest for the weary.-" She told herself before rounding the corner once more, ready to face the horde a second time.


Fluttershy had defeated the first six half-beasts with some difficulty as she headed on through the street. In the process she gained another few vials, coming to a grand total of four blood vials and five bullets. She approached a carriage which sat stationary on her right, waiting for a patrol ahead of her to carry on forwards, out of sight. Once they rounded a bend in the street she decided to press forward to the bend herself to see what was ahead of her.

She took cover behind a wall and peered around. From her spot she could see the huge bonfire, a gigantic beast burning on the giant cross. Around the fire she counted a group of twelve half-beats, mainly comprised of ponies wielding pitch-forks or old combat knives. But as she looked she noticed something new, two griffons, each with a short rifle slung slung over their backs. Griffons were always known for their strength, sharp eye-sight and quick reflexes, not many could match them in the field of battle.

But these griffons looked deformed like their equine counterparts. Their feathers were much larger then normal and darker in colour, and their fur was much thicker in their feline half, also taking on a similar dark grey tone. Their brightly coloured amber eyes shone in the great fire they had set up to burn the beast. But the thing that looked scariest about them were their jaws. Their beaks were sharper and larger, giving their already intimidating stature something scary to boot.

As she pulled back to think of her next moved, she gasped as she saw a griffon who looked like he had been hiding behind the carriage behind her, was aiming a rifle at her chest. Fluttershy raised her pistol and with only a brief moment to aim, took her shot. Unfortunately the half-griffon had already pulled the trigger too, and the yellow pegasus felt the force of a bullet slam into her ribs. The weight of the round stopped as it cracker her ribs, transferring it's force into her chest and winding her. For a moment she curled up into a fetal position on the ground and cried out in pain as a burning sensation added to the pain, spreading across her entire upper body.

"-Here we go again...-" She thought as her shaking hoof clipped the top of her saddle-bag open, so that she could summon yet another blood vial.


"Gah..."

Fluttershy dropped down into a sit, overlooking the square. When she arrived it had been filled with half-beasts, ponies and griffins all surrounding the great fire, still burning as fierce as it ever had. Though it didn't seem to bother her when she was hacking them apart...

She could barely bring herself to gaze over the carpet of corpses lining the cobbled floor, as just the mere thought that she did it brought her to some feeling of sickness. Not just over the gore and the blood, but over herself. She could keep telling herself it was for their own good, and as a matter of fact it was. Because of her the ponies and griffons who perished under her clumsily swung blade had died with their sanity still intact. She'd rather that than let them become monsters.

Maybe she just had to... think about it less. The more she pondered on why she had to kill, why she had to snuff out those lives, the sadder she felt about it. It was tragic, really. Many of those she had put down had likely lost everything, and hunted in an attempt for redemption. Like there was some way they could save themselves.

Though if what Gilbert had told her was true, which it probably was... she guessed it was better for them to die with some sanity still lingering in their skulls.

*THUMP-THUMP-THUMP*

Fluttershy's ears perked up as she looked behind her to a large gate. The sound of grunting and shuffling came from beyond with the monstrous beating noises.

*THUMP-THUMP-THUMP* "NRRAAARGH!"


Fluttershy stumbled up to the top of a set of stairs, blood dripping from her side. She slumped down against a railing, whimpering in pain. She had been seriously injured several times since she had set out on her hunt, each time the blood vials she had picked from the corpses she left behind had saved her. She had managed to get by up until where she was now. She had past a fountain where the brute pounding on the gate was, hoping to avoid him. But as she moved past to a square with a well, the brute came up behind her while she fought and ambushed her.

She was lucky to get away with her life still intact, but had almost drained her blood reserves already. She took another vial from her bags and stabbed her thigh, wincing as the numbing feeling travelled up her body. Her wounds were closing and she stopped losing blood, but she still felt just as tired.

Truth was, she was exhausted. After all the fighting and being shot, stabbed, smashed over the head with a wooden shield, she was starting to feel the effects that the blood vials delayed. She had to stay awake though, she couldn't let her guard down... could she? Maybe she could just have a little rest at the top of the stairs. Besides, she was on the Great Bridge now, the structure leading her to the Cathedral Ward. She might need her strength...

As her eyes drifted slowly closed she began to hear the 'pitter-patter' of paws and the scraping of claws in the background that she neglected to pay attention to before. Perhaps the pain of her wounds blotted it out.

The hunter forced herself to her hooves, her weak body complaining as she pushed it up. Taking a deep breath, she peered around the corner and onto the bridge. What she saw frightened her.

Scourge Beasts... The wolf-like beasts that had been responsible for killing her the first time... two patrolled across the bridge at a narrow gap where a crashed carriage spanned the road.

"Mmmrf..." Fluttershy stabilised herself. She could see another pathway leading down a set of identical stairs at the other side of the bridge. Judging by their positioning, she suspected they led down to a rooftop where she saw a corpse teetering on the edge of the roof. Taking a moment to contemplate, she decided she would much rather take a brake to take everything in and give some more thought to her hunt.

With her next goal in mind, she turned around and limped back down the stairs to head back to the lamp near Gilbert's abode. Maybe she could scavenge on the way back.


Fluttershy inspected the coagulation of crates near a tree outside of a house. Happy laughter and an almost... unnaturally ignorant vibe eminated from the building. Ignoring the survivors and leaving them to their activities, she continued to scour the collection of structures. She peeked around them to notice there was a break in the fence that the boxes were stacked against. And it lead to a small drop-off and another area.

Smiling, she clambered over the boxes, maybe it could lead her to the area behind the gate at Gilbert's? She dropped down heavily onto the cobbles at the bottom, her tired body having to recover from the small fall. The weapons she were carrying didn't help with anything, just adding to her momentum as she fell. She landed in a small area with several turn-offs. One large one to her right leading over a small bridge to a dark hallway which seemed to drop off. Maybe stairs to an underground are? Sewers or waterlines?

And another pathway directly ahead, and turned off left to go under the bridge.

"GRAHR!" Fluttershy jumped back in shock as the sound of a rabid dog snapping and barking at her arose from her left. She backpeddled a few steps to look over the animals, locked in cages. They snapped and growled savagely, like beasts...

"So... even the poor innocent animals are also affected?" Fluttershy's head drooped massively and she sighed, before walking over to a left turn-off that lead underneath the great bridge. Before heading around the corner, she looked back at the rabid dog with a certain sorrow for the animal lost to the scourge. Sad that not even the most innocent of creatures could escape the gruesome and awful fate. She sighed again and continued on.

The dog barged at it's cage, the hinges on it's door growing ever weaker...


Fluttershy walked under the bridge to see a doorway leading into somepony's house. She paused for a moment, wondering if she should intrude... But judging from the direction she was headed, and how much space there was between her and where she remembered Gilbert's house being, there should be a way to the other side of the building before her. A way which would lead her straight back to the gate which she could unlock.

Some part of her wanted her to smile for the how clever she was to figure out a town she had never been in before. But the dark gloom and doom of Yharnam struck even the smallest happiness from her heart. She continued on until she reached the door.

Fluttershy peered through the dusty window. The house was dark, but sure enough another door led to the other side of the building. After a deep breath, she grabbed the handle of the door and poked her head through.

"...Erm..." She said aloud, half expecting somepony to be there. And sure enough, a half-beast holding an ornamental sword looked to her lazily, before muttering some incomprehensible gibberish under his breath and turning to her. "Hello?" She said to the ex-pony, who ignored her greeting and stumbled forward, thrusting his blade at her head.

"Eep!" Fluttershy pulled back from the door like lightning and slammed it shut, jamming the blade between the frame and the door. Fluttershy's breathing increased dramatically, her gentle heart automatically going into overdrive like it knew it was needed. "Here we go again..." She said to herself breathily. She opened the door and paced back to give herself some space, before swinging her saw cleaver and releasing the hinge, sparks flying into the air.

The half beast rushed at her swinging wildly, like all it's other bretherin had done. Fluttershy waited out his attack, and when he was done she raised the cleaver into the air and swung down onto the half beast. She sliced through his body, crippling it before pulling back up along the same axis and finishing him off. The half beast collapsed backwards with the force of her swings, dead.

Fluttershy looked at the corpse for a moment. Something seemed... off, that was much easier than the first beasts she had killed. Were the half beasts getting weaker? Or... maybe something else, perhaps? Fluttershy remained still in thought for a moment, before sapping out of it. She was just in combat! From what she had seen, the half beasts seemed to fight in groups of at least two or three, never alone. There were likely more inside the house.

She walked in cautiously. The ground floor was dark even with the door open. But that was likely due to the bridge blocking light from entering. Some stairs immediately to her left led up to an even darker first floor where another door led up onto the great bridge. Even though light poured through the door, the top floor still looked darker. Deciding to stick to her first problems first, she walked to the other side of the room where the final door lay in wait.

She grabbed the door handle, making a mental note to come back to the building later on. There could be something worth finding in the house that the half beasts were keeping. Something that could be worth coming back for when she was less exhausted. She opened the door and light streamed into the house, partially illuminating the ground floor.

There was no time to indulge however, as a half beast stood atop a set stairs, another set of stairs turning off right behind him to a gate. A gate that a contraption seemed to connect to, likely the opening mechanism. By what she could remember, the stairs definitely led up to Gilbert's.

"Okay, Fluttershy. One last half beast and we're done for now." She said quietly to herself. She approached the first set of stairs, the half beast hearing her hoof steps and turning his attention to her. Her was a unicorn, holding a torch and an axe in his weak telekinetic grasp. Fluttershy, knowing her end goal was close, decided to attack him early. She grabbed her extended saw cleaver in both hooves and thrust forward, skewering the half beast. He staggered back, pulling himself off the weapon.

He recovered in time to see Fluttershy approaching.

"Aah, help! B-beast!" He shouted in a confused and fearful voice. Fluttershy cringed at his voice, as her instincts told her a voice like that belonged to somepony who needed help... Though, there was no help she could give him. For beasthood, there was only one remedy. Her eyes went wide as he pushed his torch at her, the burning flame skimming her mane as she halted to avoid walking into the crude device. Immediately after he raised his axe to try and bring it crashing down on her skull.

Fluttershy raised her pistol and fired at him before he could complete his attack, and he was knocked down into a vulnerable sitting position. Seeing her opportunity, Fluttershy mustered all the remaining strength she had and pushed forward with her weapon. Her attack impaled the half beast, the wide blade running right through him.

Fluttershy panted to herself as she felt the dead weight on the end of her extended weapon, knowing her prey to finally be free from torment. She stopped for a breather as she knew that was the last time she would have to kill on her hunt until she had some rest. After all, she was exhausted. Her body ached and burned, even with the old blood keeping her strong, it appeared she still had limits. They were just greatly increased from her usual physical capabilities.

Finally, she liberated the cleaver and snapped it shut with a half hearted swing. She made her way up the stairs, eventually coming the opening mechanism. She grabbed the large lever and pulled it open, the gate followed suit, springs moving into action as two gothic structures were pulled apart. Now she could see the glow of the lamp, her way back to the dream was right there.

She walked past the lit up window where Gilbert was last time they spoke.

"Hello?" She said, deciding to check on him while she was there. There was some rustling before the sickly figure of Gilbert arose from the floor.

"Aah! Fluttershy!" He coughed, before staring her up and down. He grimaced at the sheer amount of blood coating her attire. Even her mane had begun to become cottered. "You look... Well. You're okay, that's good. Being alive is always nice, I guess."

"You okay?" She asked, clipping her weapons to her belt. Gilbert chuckled.

"I haven't been okay for ages... but I'm still holding out." Fluttershy nodded. "Your hunt go well?"

"I... Killed a lot of ponies. Some griffons. But somehow it helps knowing I'm doing them a favour." Gilbert nodded in agreement at her conclusion. "Besides, this way they don't have to suffer any longer." She added.

"Keep doing what you're doing, Fluttershy. Take a break whenever you need. A tired hunter is a dead hunter, if you want to see your home again you want to be at your best." Fluttershy smiled at the thought. She actually smiled. When she was alone, the prospect of killing filled her with guilt. But talking about it with another sane pony seemed to put things in the right perspective. Once again, she was filled with hope. Though it didn't make her any less tired, she struggled to stifle a yawn. Gilbert laughed light heartedly before spluttering heavily.

"Go on, go back to your dream thingy. Get some kip, you'll need it." Fluttershy smiled and nodded before continuing on to the lamp. Though, before she could escape Gilbert's sight, she heard him speak again.

"Thank you, Fluttershy. For talking to me." He smiled at her warmly. "It's nice to know you have a friend amongst all the despair. It makes my death on the horizon look just that little bit less harrowing, ya' know?" Fluttershy gave her best smile back.

"Everypony deserves a little kindness, Gilbert. I'll see you later." She waved at her friend and he waved back, glad he'd made a friend in all the turmoil of Yharnam. He then let himself collapse into his building and let out a pained yelp.

"Argh! *Cough* Damn floor, why are so so hard?"

Fluttershy giggled as she leaned down to her lamp, letting it's magical warmth run through her blood drenched body. She could feel her consciousness being pulled away somewhere else as it took her. But as the world slipped into darkness she heard what must have been the most terrifying sound she had ever heard, coming from across the valley in Cathedral Ward.

*SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE*

Fluttershy was already half slipped away when it finished, but the screech still managed to fill her with a crippling, petrifying fear. A fear which followed her into unconsciousness.