The Following

by AusFlick

Chapter 5: Kidnapped

"This is not good," said Twilight.

"I know," said Fluttershy. The voice had stopped, and she was able to stand back up. "But what are we going to do about it? This thing is after me, and yet I'm the only pony who can see it. I know you told me about your shield, but your shield can't protect me forever. We have to do something about this thing."

"What do you suggest?" said Twilight.

"I don't know," said Fluttershy sadly. It was at that moment, Twilight had an epiphany.

"Fluttershy," she said. Fluttershy looked up at Twilight. "I think now is the time we informed Princess Celestia."

"Princess Celestia?" said Fluttershy. "What would Princess Celestia be able to do?"

"I don't think she'd be able to do much," said Twilight, who was now pacing back and forth. "But keep in mind that Princess Celestia is the most powerful pony in all of Equestria. If there was anypony that could protect you, it would be her. She could send out guards after this thing, maybe she could cast some sort of protection spell on you, maybe she could put you in a safe and top security location protected by guards. I don't know, anything."

"Are you sure that's the best course of action?" Fluttershy asked.

"Got any better ideas?" said Twilight. Fluttershy's eyes widened, and her pupils shrunk. "Was it something I said?" Fluttershy didn't respond. Twilight waved her hoof in front of her face. "Hello." Still nothing. "Fluttershy?" That was when Twilight realised Fluttershy wasn't looking at her, she was looking at something behind her. Twilight turned around, but didn't see anything out of nature. "It's right over there, isn't it?"

"Yep," said Fluttershy. "It's just over there in the distance."

"Ok," said Twilight. "Come with me, back to my castle, and I will get Spike to notify Princess Celestia."

"No, Twilight!" said Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy, what are you..."

Twilight then saw the state Fluttershy was in. Every time this thing apparently showed up, Fluttershy's eyes would shrink as they were full of fear. But this time, her eyes weren't full of fear, but rage. Fluttershy was gritting her teeth, her forehead was sweating, and her nose was scrunched up.

"This ends now!" Fluttershy snapped, before gunning it at presumably the creature.

"Fluttershy, wait!" Twilight called, but Fluttershy ignored her. She kept running, her hooves stomping with every step. The creature was now just a few metres away. Fluttershy pounced at the creature, only to fly through what felt like a puff of black smoke, before crashing into it. After rolling into a heap, Fluttershy was successful at pinning it down, or, more accurately, she was successful at pinning her down.

"Derpy?" Fluttershy asked, confused. Derpy stared blankly at her, her eyes facing different directions as usual.

"Er, what just happened?" Derpy asked.

"Sorry, Derpy," Fluttershy said, quickly trying to get off her. "I thought you were..."

"You thought I was, what?" said Derpy, but Fluttershy didn't answer. Her ears were twitching and she was facing the other direction.

Fluttershy was staring at the red eyes that she had become way too used to seeing, but this time this entity appeared different. Every time Fluttershy saw this thing, it was always meeting her at eye level, but now the eyes were floating in mid-air, high above the ground. Fluttershy had to bend her neck slightly upwards to see it. That wasn't the only thing about it that's changed. This creature always to some extent resembled a pony that was just jet black, but now it was hovering above the ground, taking the shape of a large distorted cloud.

"You shouldn't have done that!" The voice filled Fluttershy's head again, but this time she made no attempt to block it. Fluttershy was still sweating, and her heart was pounding. She was unsure of whether she should be furious, or terrified. "You really shouldn't have done that!"

Mystery solved, Fluttershy now knew how to feel: terrified.

"Now it's time to pay the price!"

Fluttershy looked away and closed her eyes, preparing for what was to come next. This was it. Fluttershy's entire life flashed before her, as she braced herself. Time slowed down, as Fluttershy took what she believed to be her final breath.

But what was taking so long?

Fluttershy opened her eyes to look, only to see the cloud of smoke flying away at high speed. That was it? Did it just want to scare her or something? No. Fluttershy knew full well what this thing's intentions were. If it was going away, then it must have been up to no good. But what did it mean by, 'she had to pay the price?' Fluttershy studied the pathway of which the beast had gone. It was a pathway that lead to Sugarcube Corner. At that moment, Fluttershy instantly knew what it meant by 'The Price.' Fluttershy bolted for Sugarcube Corner. She had to warn her friends, and fast.

---

The entire time Fluttershy kept alternating between running and flying, trying to determine whether it was faster to run, or fly. She ultimately chose to run, since she was still a pretty slow flyer. A stitch formed in her chest as she ran. She hadn't run this fast since the creature first found her in the Everfree Forest. Despite her stitch, Fluttershy didn't slow down. If anything her speed increased. Her friends were now in grave danger, and it was all her fault.

Within minutes, Fluttershy arrived at Sugarcube Corner. She barged through the door, panting. Behind the counter were Mr and Mrs Cake, who appeared to be working on some sort of sugary dessert. Mrs Cake looked up at Fluttershy as the doors flew open.

"Is there anything we can do for you, Fluttershy?" said Mrs Cake.

"Have - either of you - seen - Pinkie Pie... " Fluttershy blurted out under her breath.

"Sorry, Fluttershy," said Mrs Cake frowning. "But we haven't seen Pinkie since yesterday."

"Do you - know - where she - is... " said Fluttershy, still gasping for air. Mrs Cake shook her head.

"I have no idea where she is, is everything alright?"

"You can't find her?" said Fluttershy. "This is terrible!"

Fluttershy ran upstairs into Pinkie's room, hoping she was in there. The room was completely empty, filled with nothing but a messy bed, decorations all over the floor, and her pet crocodile Gummy sleeping on the windowsill.

"Pinkie Pie?" said Fluttershy in a shaky voice, hoping for some sort of response. She got a response all right, just not the response she wanted to hear.

A response that flooded her head.

A response that spoke in a cold, low and raspy voice.

A response that sent her chills down her spine.

"One down, five to go!"

It was taking them out, one by one, and there was no doubt in Fluttershy's mind it was saving her for last. Fluttershy wanted to ask what it had done with Pinkie Pie, but she knew there was no point. Not only would it not respond, but Fluttershy had other things to worry about. She may have lost a friend, but there was still a chance to save her other friends. It didn't even occur to her to wonder how this thing knew who her friends were. All she could think about was which of her friends she should warn first? Who was its next target?

Fluttershy ran to the window and peeped out, looking for any sign the beast. She spotted a familiar black puffy cloud rushing through Ponyville, which appeared to be rushing towards an isolated but fancy looking house.

"Rarity!"

Fluttershy knew she had no chance of getting to Rarity first if she tried getting there by hoof. If she cut through the town by flying, she just might be able to warn her in time. She opened the window, jumped out and took flight, heading directly for Rarity's house.

When she finally arrived outside Rarity's, there was no sign of the beast. Fluttershy didn't know whether or not she beat it, but she hoped like anything that she did. She ran inside much like she had done with Sugarcube Corner. The place was completely deserted. Mannequins have fallen over, some have even broken apart. Dresses, materials, fabric and random tools such as scissors were scattered all over the floor. Clothes were flung everywhere torn and ripped, and worst of all, lying there in the middle of the carnage crying, was Sweetie Belle. Fluttershy didn't even have to ask what happened, she already knew. She was too late.

"Sweetie Belle!" Fluttershy cried, coming to her aid. Never before had Fluttershy actually been glad she was the only one who could see that thing. She could have just imagined how much more traumatising this incident would have been for Sweetie Belle if she did see it. "Are you alright?"

"No, I'm not." Sweetie Belle's voice was weak, and she sounded like she had trouble speaking due to her crying. "Rarity was just trying to teach me how to make a certain kind of dress, and then without warning, an invisible force barged into the house. Everything flew across the room. Fluttershy, it took Rarity!"

Fluttershy's heart sank. The fact she was losing her friends was bad enough, but Sweetie Belle was Rarity's younger sister. Since she was still a filly, this must have been way more traumatising for her. There was only one suggestion that came to Fluttershy's mind.

"Why don't you just go and see your friends, Scootaloo and... " Fluttershy was interrupted by the same sinister voice that always filled her head.

"Two down, four to go!"

Fluttershy gasped.

"Applejack!"

Without thinking, Fluttershy took flight and headed straight for Sweet Apple Acres. She was about halfway there when she heard somepony calling her from down below.

"Fluttershy!"

Fluttershy looked down. It was Twilight, running after her. At least there was one friend Fluttershy could warn. She flew down to meet Twilight in eye level.

"Fluttershy, what is going on?" asked Twilight. "You've been running all over Ponyville for the last ten to fifteen minutes. This wouldn't have anything to do with that creature would it?"

"It would," said Fluttershy. "It's stepping up its game. It's kidnapping our friends!"

"What?" said Twilight with a look of horror on her face.

"It's already got Pinkie Pie and Rarity, and if I'm not mistaking, Applejack is next! We've got to warn her!"

Twilight held a straight face as she nodded.

"Then we have no time to waste," she said. "Let's go."

It wasn't long until Fluttershy was back in the air, with Twilight flying close behind. They could see Sweet Apple Acres just ahead of them.

"Hurry!" Fluttershy said urgently, flapping her wings as hard as she could. It was right about now when Fluttershy wished she shared the same flying speed as Rainbow Dash.

Eventually they both made it to the ground just outside the barn. Much to Fluttershy's dismay, there was no sign of Applejack. Twilight kept calling out Applejack's name over and over, in hopes to hear a response. Fluttershy just remained silent, closed her eyes, and waited for the voice to say it.

"Three down, three to go!"

"There's no use, Twilight." said Fluttershy. "It's taken Applejack too."

"Where is it taking them?" Twilight asked.

"I wish I knew," said Fluttershy. "I keep speculating who's next and they disappear before I have anytime to warn them."

"Who do you think will be the next target?" said Twilight.

"Well we're together, and it has already taken Pinkie, AppleJack and Rarity," said Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy, you don't suppose it's after... " Twilight was interrupted by a high pitched but raspy voice screaming in the distance.

"Somepony help!"

Fluttershy and Twilight looked up, to see a black cloud plummeting towards the ground at high speed. The cloud was pulling a cyan pegasus by its rainbow tail, dragging her towards the ground, flapping and screaming for help as she was plummeting downwards.

"RAINBOW DASH!!!" Twilight and Fluttershy screamed in unison.

"Come on!" Twilight said quickly, as she bolted for the spot Rainbow and the cloud was heading towards. Fluttershy followed. With every step, and every blink of an eye, Rainbow Dash was even closer to crashing into the ground. Twilight continued to run, however, Fluttershy struggled to keep up. With all of this running and flying, Fluttershy's stitch has gotten worse. At this rate she was completely out of breath, and her legs were growing incredibly weak. She had to rely on her wings to help support her weight. She was just lucky she was no longer dealing with an injured leg to make things worse.

Despite her pain and over exertion, Fluttershy tried her best to keep up with Twilight. Then it happened.

Rainbow Dash slammed body first into the ground, creating a small creator under her weight. She remained there, lying on the ground, not moving. She didn't even look like she was breathing.

"Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy cried, as she flew over to her to see if she was ok. She was perfectly still, eyes shut, not breathing. Fluttershy was tearing up. "Rainbow?"

There was no response.

"Rainbow, please, wake up!" said Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash remained on the ground completely motionless. "Twilight, you don't suppose she's..."

Twilight placed her hoof over Rainbow Dash's neck. She closed her eyes, as if she was concentrating on something. She opened her eyes.

"She has a pulse," said Twilight. "But she's unconscious. We have to get her to a hospital. Fast." Twilight's horn glowed as Rainbow Dash lifted from the ground. She levitated from the ground and Twilight gently placed Rainbow Dash onto her back. Twilight felt a sudden increase of gravity, as she struggled to stand up straight with Rainbow's weight.

"I should've gotten an earth pony to carry her." Twilight hissed through her gritted teeth. As Twilight started walking towards the hospital she heard a groan coming from behind her.

"Look, she's waking up!" said Fluttershy beaming. Twilight came to a dead stop.

"What happened?" asked Rainbow Dash in a low and tired voice.

"Something pulled you down to the ground and you crashed," said Twilight. "We were just taking you to the hospital."

Fluttershy froze.

"Speaking of that something," said Fluttershy, investigating her surroundings. "Where is it?"

"Where's what?" asked Rainbow Dash.

Only a couple of seconds had passed after Fluttershy asked the question when it showed up. There it was, a large, black, puffy cloud with red glowing eyes. Fluttershy knew exactly what it was here for.

"Oh no!" Fluttershy cried. "It's here!"

"Where is it?" said Twilight frantically looking around. "What's it doing?"

It's red eyes were squinting with rage. However, for the first time ever, its eyes were not focused on Fluttershy. They were focused on Rainbow Dash.

"Rainbow, Twilight, Run!" Fluttershy yelled.

Too late.

The beast launched at Rainbow Dash. In its cloud form, it grabbed Rainbow Dash by the tail, threw her off Twilight's back and dragged her kicking and screaming away from the two of them. Twilight and Fluttershy dived to catch her by grabbing her front hooves, but they only just missed her, crashing into the ground.

Rainbow Dash was being dragged by the tail across the ground at high speed. She flapped her wings, kicked and dug her hooves into the ground, desperately trying to break free of the beast's grip.

"Twilight, Fluttershy, help!" Rainbow Dash screamed. Fluttershy and Twilight scrambled to their hooves and chased after Rainbow. Running felt useless, since she was being dragged three times the speed they could run. That didn't stop them from trying though.

After chasing her through the streets of Ponyville, their pursuit came to an end. The mystery of where this thing was taking Fluttershy's friends was finally solved. Rainbow Dash let out one final scream for help, before she disappeared tail first into the Everfree Forest.

"Rainbow!" Fluttershy called as she watched her disappear before her eyes. That's when she heard it again.

"Four down, two to go!"

"Twilight," said Fluttershy in a calm but shivery voice. "I think you're next."

---

Fluttershy and Twilight had now spent about an hour locked up in Twilight's library. She cast the same locking spell on the door that she had tried before, among shifting a ton of furniture in front of it for good measure. Neither of them thought it was going to be very effective, but at least they were trying to be cautious. They both agreed it was wise to stay in the same room together, and not let each other out of their sight. They weren't even allowed to turn their backs on each other. They spent the last hour sitting on couches opposite one another in the centre of the room, trying to come up with plan.

"For the last time, can somepony please tell me what is going on?" said Spike, who hadn't been told anything about the current circumstances. Twilight explained the situation. When she finished she paid her attention back on Fluttershy.

"Listen," she said. "We have got to tell Princess Celestia about this."

"I agree," said Fluttershy. "But what are we going to do about our friends?"

"I hate to say it," said Twilight frowning. "But I think we have to venture into the Everfree Forest if we're going to have any chance of rescuing them."

"I was afraid you would say that," said Fluttershy. "I'm just concerned about it getting you too."

"Don't worry, Fluttershy," said Twilight. "As long as we stick together, we'll be fine. Besides, that thing shouldn't be able to get through the door."

They both glanced at the door, still glowing from Twilight's spell and still piled up by the large abundance of furniture in front of it. Fluttershy turned back to look at Twilight.

"Do you really think that?" asked Fluttershy. Twilight fell silent. Fluttershy glanced back at the door and gasped.

"What the..." said Twilight. Squeezing between the cracks in the door was a black cloud. As it entered the room, two red, glowing eyes emerged from the abyss. Twilight gulped and was now pacing backwards. "What, is that thing?"

Fluttershy's mouth fell open.

"You can actually see it?" said Fluttershy stunned.

"Of course I can, clear as day," said Twilight.

"That's it," said Fluttershy. "This is the thing I've been talking about!"

"This is the thing that has been after you this entire time?" Twilight asked in utter shock.

"Yes!"

"Fluttershy, I am so sorry."

"What in the name of Princess Celestia are you two talking about?" said Spike, looking in the same direction Twilight and Fluttershy were looking. "There's nothing there."

By this point Fluttershy and Twilight were both backed up against the wall.

"Nothing there?" said Twilight. "How do you not see that?"

A massive grin emerged underneath its red eyes. It's smile looked just as evil and sinister as the last time Fluttershy saw it smile like that.

Twilight gulped.

"This, can't be good," she said.

The creature launched, and in the blink of an eye Twilight was trapped inside it.

"Twilight!" Fluttershy yelped. Within seconds the cloud had flown out the window, dragging Twilight by the tail behind it.

"Fluttershy, help!" Twilight yelled. Fluttershy didn't hesitate. She took pursuit.

---

Minutes had passed. Twilight wasn't being dragged across the ground anywhere near as fast as Rainbow had. Twilight was always close enough to Fluttershy to motivate her to keep running as fast as she could, but still moving fast enough to always be ever so slightly out of reach. This thing was teasing her! Fluttershy came to a dead stop, as she watched Twilight screaming for help as she too disappeared into the Everfree Forest.

"TWILIGHT!" Fluttershy screamed. Her scream was loud, and filled the air. She listened to the sound of her scream echoing over and over, getting more faint, and softer every time. Then everything went quiet. Everything, that was, except for one, low, raspy voice that filled Fluttershy's head.

"Five down,"

In an instant, any energy Fluttershy may have had completely washed out.

"One pony left!"

Fluttershy's legs gave way. She collapsed to the ground, and cried. Upon her realisation, that she was now completely, and utterly alone.