The Following

by AusFlick

Chapter 6: Back to the Forest

Fluttershy spent the rest of that afternoon locked up in her bedroom crying. She was positive that her locked door won't hold it. After all, this thing managed to get through a locked door three or four times already. Why would this time be any different? But now, Fluttershy was on the edge of not caring anymore. This beast has taken all of her friends away from her. It was only a matter of time before she was next. Fluttershy just hoped that when it came, it would just put her out of her misery.

There was a knocking on her front door.

This was it. This was the end for her. Fluttershy remained on the bed crying, waiting for it to come into her room to take her. She was tired of running. She just wanted this to stop. She was never going to be able to keep running from this thing forever, so there was no point in trying to prolong what was inevitable.

The knocking continued. Why was it knocking anyway? Didn't this thing usually just enter the room at its own leisure? Why wasn't it speaking to her.

"Fluttershy," said a muffled voice from behind the door. "Are you in there?"

To Fluttershy's surprise, this was not the voice of the beast. It was the voice of a mare. A very familiar voice of a mare. But Fluttershy had no interest in talking. In fact, she was the last pony she wanted to talk to after what she had been through. Whatever it was that she wanted, it was not Fluttershy's problem.

"Go away!" Fluttershy said with difficulty, as her throat had gone hoarse from crying.

"Listen, I'm not here about what happened earlier," said Crystal. "Can you please open up?"

Fluttershy didn't know what possessed her to do so, but she found herself reluctantly approaching the front door and opening it. As Fluttershy opened the door, Crystal walked in.

"I was just talking to Sweetie Belle," said Crystal. "She told me what happened."

"She did?" asked Fluttershy through her sore throat. Crystal nodded.

"She did," she confirmed. "Fluttershy, I'm sorry about Rarity."

Fluttershy tried her hardest to hold back her emotion so she could at least speak clearly. It was a losing battle.

"It wasn't just Rarity," she said, barely able to talk.

"Oh no," said Crystal.

"It also took Applejack," she continued. "...and Rainbow Dash... and Pinkie Pie... and..." Fluttershy lost any ability she may have previously had to speak. She couldn't take it anymore. Fluttershy fell to the ground as she sobbed.

"Oh, Fluttershy," said Crystal, tearing up herself. For the longest time, Crystal thought Fluttershy was just crazy or just making the whole creature thing up. To this point, even after hearing Sweetie Belle's story, she was still feeling rather sceptical. However, seeing Fluttershy suffer like this finally got the message across. Crystal lied down on the floor so they could see eye to eye. "Don't worry, everything is going to be alright."

Fluttershy wanted to believe her, but Crystal had no idea what she had been through.

"No it won't," she wailed. "All of my friends are gone, and it's only a matter of time before it gets me."

Crystal's heart sank. Seeing Fluttershy this upset finally opened her eyes, and the memories of how she had treated Fluttershy of late overwhelmed her with guilt.

"Fluttershy, I owe you a huge apology." Fluttershy looked up to Crystal, her eyes wet with tears. "I am so sorry about how I treated you. I may be a smart pony, who's well educated in magic." Crystal took a deep breath as she continued. "But I now realise that I tend to be very closed minded around things I don't understand. The last time we met, Twilight tried to tell me this, but I didn't want to listen. However, now that I see what you're going through, I want another chance to help set things right. I want to correct my mistakes, and, I want to be here for you." Fluttershy stared at Crystal as she apologised, her face full of emotion. "Fluttershy," Crystal placed a hoof over Fluttershy's. "Will you ever forgive me?"

Fluttershy closed her eyes for a brief second before launching at Crystal, grabbing her in a tight hug without saying a word. The two of them sat there in silence as Fluttershy cried over Crystal's shoulder. Crystal gently patted Fluttershy on the back reassuringly.

"There, there, Fluttershy," said Crystal in a soft, calm and quiet voice. "Just let it all out." Crystal sat there in silence, continuing to hold Fluttershy as she sobbed.

---

Day turned into night, and the two of them were sitting quietly in Fluttershy's lounge room as she calmed down. The afternoon was spent trying to come up with a plan. Fluttershy had explained to Crystal in thorough detail of what was happening to her over the last few days, in order to give her context of what she was up against.

"I don't believe it," said Crystal after Fluttershy had finished. "I've never heard or seen anything like it. If it wasn't for the fact your friends have been kidnapped, and it's made physical contact with you, I would have thought this was just a fragment of your imagination. A consequence of letting some sort of negative emotion bottle up inside of you and this is the result of your emotions finally erupting."

What Crystal was saying made a lot of sense to Fluttershy. If it weren't for her missing friends, there were many signs pointing to Fluttershy indicating that this whole thing was just in her head. But if it was just in her head, then what happened to her friends, and how was Twilight also able to see it when it attacked her? But now wasn't the time to speculate.

"Fluttershy, are you sure your friends aren't just being held hostage?" Crystal asked.

"When my friends were captured, I saw them being dragged into the Everfree Forest," said Fluttershy.

"The Everfree Forest?" said Crystal, alarmed. "I personally have never been in there, have you?"

"Yes, I unfortunately have," said Fluttershy. "It's a place that is full of supernatural creatures, monsters and entities. It's also known for being one of the most dangerous places in Equestria."

Crystal's face went into a look of fear, however it only lasted for a few seconds before it turned into a look of determination. She stood up.

"Well that's not going to stop us from doing something about it," she said.

"What are you talking about, Crystal?" Fluttershy asked.

"Fluttershy, our friends are in there," said Crystal urgently. "We've got to save them! Are you in?" Crystal leant out a hoof.

Fluttershy hesitated. Not only was Fluttershy terrified of the Everfree Forest, but that forest was the reason this thing was after her in the first place. Not to mention attempting to rescue her friends would put her in grave danger. Then Fluttershy realised something. This thing was coming after her anyway, so she was already in danger no matter what she did, besides, they were her friends. She wasn't prepared to let her friends down just because she was afraid. Fluttershy sighed, and placed a hoof on top of Crystal's.

"I'm in," she said.

---

One hour later, Fluttershy and Crystal were standing right outside the Everfree Forest, bracing themselves as they prepared to go in. Just like Fluttershy and Twilight had the last time they entered the forest, Fluttershy and Crystal had made arrangements for anything that could possibly go wrong. Since it was dark, it was almost impossible to see into the forest, so Crystal planned on using a spell she could use to generate light from her horn. That way, they could see where they were going. Crystal also knew the spell that could cast a shield, and they both agreed that Crystal was to create a shield around them both if Fluttershy saw any sign of the beat. The last plan they made was trying to organise a method they could use to track down their friends. They were standing in front of the entrance where Fluttershy saw Twilight and Rainbow Dash being dragged into earlier that day. It wasn't much to go by, but that should have at least put them on the right track. Crystal turned to Fluttershy.

"Ready?" said Crystal. Fluttershy nodded.

"Ready," she said.

Crystal closed her eyes, and her horn glowed as a light generated at the tip of it. Immediately, they both could see further and clearer into the forest.

"Let's go," said Crystal.

Despite Crystal's light, it was still relatively difficult to see. The path was narrow, the trees that surrounded them were dark, tall, and thick, and the leaves that towered above them blocked the night sky and the moon from view. The light at the tip of Crystal's horn was only strong enough for her and Fluttershy to see a few metres ahead. The two of them briefly shivered as the cool breeze blazed through their coats, but trying to keep warm was the last thing they were worried about.

As they walked, Crystal spotted something on the ground.

"Look," she said. "Somepony has been here before."

Fluttershy looked to the ground. She was right. Facing the opposite direction they were heading was a trail of hoof prints. The prints were deep, and far apart from each other, as if whoever created them was running. Fluttershy looked up ahead of her.

"Is that what I think it is?" she said running ahead. Crystal followed. Fluttershy eventually slowed down at took a closer look at it.

"What is it?" asked Crystal. Fluttershy was studying a particularly large and jagged rock that was sticking out of the ground. What caught Fluttershy's eye on it however, was its colour. Most of the rock was grey, but on the rock was a puddle of dry blood. Fluttershy quickly connected the dots between the hoof prints and the rock. It was at that moment that Fluttershy knew where they were.

"Crystal, have your shield spell ready," she said, trying to sound stern. They walked passed the rock and continued down the trail. As they walked, Crystal tripped and stumbled. They looked down. There was a fresh set of hoof prints facing the direction of which they were walking. Around the prints were trenches and marks, as if somepony had been digging at the ground while being dragged by something against their will.

"This is great," said Crystal. "I'm willing to bet these belong to our friends, and whatever this thing is. So theoretically, if we just follow these tracks, they should lead us right to our friends." Fluttershy's face lightened up at the idea of being able to see her friends again, but her face instantly went to dread.

"That also means these tracks will probably lead us directly to the beast," said Fluttershy. "I bet this is why it hasn't come for me yet. Crystal, you don't suspect we could be walking right into some sort of trap?"

"Yeah, I do," said Crystal. "But we have to try. We'll just have to roll with the punches, and hope for the best."

The continued following the trail. Fluttershy was now wondering how much further they had to keep walking. These trails and marks so far had just gone in a straight line. If they kept going straight ahead at this rate, they would end up at Zecora's place. After about five minutes of walking in a straight line, the marks and trails finally shied away from the main path. The marks and hoof prints took a sharp left turn into a set of bushes. Fluttershy came to a dead stop.

The bushes stuck out in Fluttershy's mind. These bushes looked familiar, as if she had recently seen bushes that looked very similar. Amongst them was nothing but darkness. The familiar image brought back memories. Memories that she wasn't fond of. It was weird looking into these bushes once again, only this time, no creepy eyes popped out. Just pure darkness.

"Everything alright, Fluttershy?" Crystal asked. Fluttershy quickly shook her head, breaking out of her train of thought.

"I'm fine," she said. "Let's keep going."

They walked through the bushes. The forest became darker, and walking almost immediately became much more difficult. While narrow, the path way they were previously on at least was clear and easy to walk through. Now they had to hop over logs, walk around thick trees, shift leaves and branches to the sides, and watch out for sudden slopes. Above all of this, they also had to keep a very sharp eye on the tracks to avoid getting lost. It didn't help that it was now raining, so the uneven ground they were walking upon was now wet, muddy and slippery. Before they knew it, they were both shivering, since the rain had drenched their fur coats, causing their fur to become thicker, heavier in density and colder.

Neither of them knew how long they were walking for before they saw anything that looked like they were getting somewhere, but they eventually found what they believed to be the lair of the entity that had been haunting Fluttershy this entire time. In front of them was a wide open space surrounded by trees. In the middle of it was a slope made of dirt that lead into an underground tunnel. The tunnel looked more like a hole that was made of dirt, although due to the rain it was more like mud than it was dirt. Surrounding the hole was wet grass. The hole didn't look very inviting, as it was pitch black inside. Not even the light coming from Crystal's horn allowed them to see what was inside.

Fluttershy took a step closer to the hole, now standing on the edge, and leaned over the entrance.

"Hello?" she called. Fluttershy listened to her own voice echoing through the tunnel, saying 'hello' over and over again, getting more and more faint each time. There was no response. "Can anypony hear me?" She listened to her voice echo through the tunnel again, and once again, there was no response. She turned to look at Crystal. "Do you think they're in there?"

"There's no doubt in my mind they're in there," said Crystal. "Look at these trenches and hoof prints, they go directly into this tunnel."

Fluttershy braced herself. While she was excited to see her friends again, she also knew full well what was at the other end of that tunnel, patiently waiting for her arrival. Fluttershy was now questioning the odds of getting out of this tunnel alive. They didn't look very good.

Fluttershy slowly breathed in, and out.

"Come on, let's go," she said. Fluttershy and Crystal stepped into the tunnel in sync. Their hooves landed on a wet, muddy slope. The slope was so slippery they lost their balance, slid down it and landed in a toppling heap at the bottom. The light at the tip of Crystal's horn went out as they fell. They picked themselves back up, now completely covered in mud. Crystal was spitting, gagging and coughing.

"Are you ok, Crystal?" Fluttershy asked.

Crystal gagged again, coughing as she spat a chunk of mud out of her mouth. "I'm fine," she wheezed. She took massive breath in, before letting out one particularly loud and unpleasant sounding cough. Crystal gasped. "I just think I got some mud in my throat."

"Gross," said Fluttershy.

"Don't worry, Fluttershy, I'm fine," said Crystal. "Give me a sec." Fluttershy looked at her surroundings, or, lack thereof. They were shrouded in darkness, and all Fluttershy could see was Crystal, and the entrance they just fell through. Fluttershy's attention was back on Crystal when light regenerated from her horn, as she recast her spell. Even with the light on the tip of Crystal's horn, there wasn't much to see. The tunnel was dark and gloomy, and everything from the ceiling to the ground was all made of dirt and mud.

The tunnel appeared to just go in a straight line, and what lied in front of them was an empty tunnel that lead into nothing but black. If there was a light at the end of this tunnel, as the saying went, Fluttershy certainly couldn't see it.

Fluttershy and Crystal started down the tunnel. The noises of their hooves squelching in mud filled the tunnel. The further away they got from the entrance, the further they got from the rain, allowing the ground to gradually turn into dry dirt. Though their hooves were still wet with mud. Soon the tunnel was just filled with the sound of standard hoof steps.

Many minutes passed, and they were still walking down the same tunnel. They had made no turns, walked up or down any hills or anything.

"How far does this thing go?" Crystal asked herself.

"I have no idea," Fluttershy responded.

The two of them glanced back down the way they came. They could no longer see the entrance, and their trail of fresh hoof prints that was directly behind them was now their only way of knowing which way they were going. Besides that, the way forward and the way back were identical. As they looked back the way they were heading, they saw something that made their eyes shrink.

"Fluttershy, I don't think our friends are very far from here," said Crystal. Fluttershy agreed. In front of them, there was a trench that somepony must have dug into the dirt with their hoof. The trench formed a message that was written upside down, as the word 'HELP' was engraved in the dirt. Underneath it were a bunch of symbols that looked like they were drawn by a twig. The symbols were a diamond, an apple, a balloon, a thunderbolt with a cloud above it, and a star. Fluttershy knew what this meant.

"Come on!" said Crystal. The next thing they knew, they were running down the tunnel. "We must be getting close, we can't let our guard down, and stay alert."

Immediately after saying this Crystal screamed and vanished in the blink of an eye. Fluttershy stopped dead in her tracks. Crystal had run directly off an edge, her light had gone out, and she had fallen out of sight.

"Crystal!" Fluttershy cried.

"Don't worry, I'm ok." Crystal's voice could be heard from the bottom of the cliff, though Fluttershy couldn't see the bottom through the darkness. "I just tripped, it's completely safe. Come down, but be careful. The slope is very steep, so watch your step."

"I can't see anything," said Fluttershy. Light regenerated from the bottom of the slope. Crystal wasn't lying when she said it was steep. In front of her was a slope that almost went directly downwards, and it didn't level out for a good few metres. At the bottom was just more tunnel, the roof of which was blocking Crystal from view. Fluttershy carefully slid down the slope, using her wings to give herself a slower descend. She slid to the bottom landing on her back.

She picked herself up and shook herself in an attempt to shake some dirt and mud off her. It worked a little bit, but not by much. At the bottom of the slope was Crystal, who had been waiting for her. They continued down the tunnel.

Finally it felt like they were getting somewhere. The tunnel opened up into a dome like area, and the room was massive. However, there was something incredibly wrong about this place. There were no other passageways outside of the way they came. There was nothing else but just a simple dome made of dirt. This was a dead end! What was even worse was the smell. The second Crystal and Fluttershy entered the dome, their noses filled with the stench of rotten corpses.

"I have a bad feeling about this," said Crystal, trying to cover her scrunched up nose with her hoof. Fluttershy felt the same way. Her heart was thumping, and she was covered in sweat. She approached the other side of the dome in hopes to find another passageway, or at the very least find a clue on where her friends were. She was so focused on finding something hidden in the walls that she tripped on something cold and hard, and was placed in the centre of the room. She fell over, but she was glad to have not received a great injury like last time. Fluttershy turned her head back to see what it was she tripped over. What she saw next made her scream.

Fluttershy backed herself against the wall panting, blinking, staring in horror, hoping like anything that she wasn't actually seeing what she thought she was seeing. Lying in the centre of the room, staring directly at her, was the skeleton of a pony. Studying the structure of the skeleton, she could tell that this skeleton belonged to an alicorn. It wasn't the only one either. Fluttershy looked around the dome to see five pony skeletons scattered all over the dome. One was a unicorn, one was a pegasus, two of them were earth ponies, and then there was the alicorn in the centre.

Fluttershy placed a hoof over her mouth, as stared at the skeletons in despair.

"Oh, no," said Crystal as she made the same realisation. Fluttershy's eyes were suddenly flooded with tears. By this point she had lost it. She completely broke down, balling. Fluttershy crawled over to the skull of what used to be her best friend and hugged it tight, shutting her eyes, wishing she would just wake up from a bad dream. Or at the very least Princess Luna would come to save her. But neither of those happened. Crystal however, seemed much more frightened than upset.

"Fluttershy!" she said urgently. "We have to get out of here, now!"

Fluttershy ignored her. She refused to leave the dome, refused to leave the remains of her friends.

"We're, too late!" Fluttershy wailed, still clutching the skull as hard as she could.

"And we're probably going to meet the same fate if we don't hurry," said Crystal.

"I don't care!"

Crystal noticed an increase in wind. Wind was circulating the perimeter of the dome, and black particles were wisping around them.

"FLUTTERSHY, COME ON! WE'VE GOT TO RUN!"

"Just go!" Fluttershy snapped.

"What?" Crystal gasped in shock.

"Just go on without me."

The amount of black particles were increasing. The wind was getting harder, and the roar of the wind was getting louder.

"Fluttershy!"

"Go! Run!"

Crystal hesitated for a moment, and ran for the exit. Fluttershy stayed exactly where she was. Lying in the middle of the dome, eyes shut tight, crying and clutching the remains of what used to be Twilight Sparkle. The roaring wind continued to increase, and there were so many black particles it was becoming difficult to see past them. Fluttershy knew what was coming. She knew it would arrive in any second, but she didn't care. She didn't see the point in living anymore. This was it. It was all over. She had lost.

Crystal ran for the exit, but a massive gust of wind propelled her backwards, crashing into the wall of the dome. The exact opposite side of the dome to the exit.

"Where do you think you're going?" A loud voice boomed from nowhere.

Fluttershy recognised that voice anywhere. It was here.

But there was something strange about it. The voice wasn't in her head like usual. It sounded like it was speaking out loud.

"Getting out of here!" said Crystal.

Did Fluttershy just hear that right? Did Crystal just respond to it? Fluttershy opened her eyes and looked up.

For the longest time Fluttershy didn't have a specific defining word to describe this thing. She described it as a beast, a creature, an entity, but the black particles had formed into what Fluttershy could now only use one word to describe it: Monster.

The figure was a huge distorted shape with razor sharp claws where its hooves should have been. It had a wide mouth with jagged teeth, dripping with venom. Its eyes were bulging, much larger than before. They glowed, illuminating the entire dome in red.

"Time's up! Fluttershy!" the monster boomed.

'This is it!' Fluttershy thought to herself. 'I'm going to die!'