The Slender Pony

by The Poet of Silence

Chapter 15

The foul weather continued into the next day. The air was a bitter cold, and the clouds had grown darker. A light fog had descended during the night, light grey clouds rising up to the knees of an average-sized earth pony. Birds shivered in their nests, not accustomed to this bitter, biting cold. They tweeted in low tones, shivering in the cold. Hatchlings huddled together under the warmth of their mother’s belly, desperate for warmth. Fluttershy knew with sorrow that unless somepony stepped in or this weather passed that the hatchlings would die. The mothers would not leave the nest to gather food for fear of her babies freezing to death.

Stifling a wave of sorrow, Fluttershy pulled the hood of her jacket over her head, sniffling as she did so. As usual, Fluttershy had come down with a light cold from the weather, as she usually did when bad weather was about. She slowly trudged up the hill to the marketplace in Ponyville. She walked up to a fruit vendor and said softly, “Th-Th-Three bags of strawberries, please.” Sweetie Bell had asked for strawberries, and Fluttershy had decided to oblige and get some for her, knowing full and well what was coming after her.

“That’ll be eighteen bits,” the vendor pony said, his voice slightly muffled by a scarf around his head. “Eighteen bits! Why are they so expensive now?” Fluttershy exclaimed. “I’ve gotten reports from all across the region. If this weather keeps up, the crops will start to die off. This is the last batch that I’ve been told I’ll be getting for some time now. Sorry for any inconvenience,” the vendor explained. Fluttershy sighed and pulled out nine bits. She laid the shiny coins on the wooden stall and said, “Alright. One bag of strawberries, please.”

The bag of strawberries clenched tight in her teeth, Fluttershy began to walk back to Rarity’s house. As she walked, she noticed the outline of her small cottage off in the distance. Seeing her house brought up memories of hairless rat-creatures and of Angel’s skinned face and of the Slenderpony. Fluttershy suddenly developed a massive interest in the cobblestone street, and this interest continued until she reached Rarity’s house.

Rarity and Sweetie Bell were inside, sitting on a couch. A mug of steaming hot chocolate was wrapped inside Sweetie Bell’s hooves, and a blanket had been stretched over her shoulders. Her eyes were draped in dark bags, her eyes barely open as they were. With a jolt, Sweetie Bell shook herself awake, no doubt still fearful of her nightmare last night. Fluttershy felt sympathy for this little pony, so young and afraid. Fluttershy’s eyes drifted Sweetie Bell’s bare flank, and wondered if after the events of the next several days she would ever get her cutie mark.

“I-I-I’m sorry, Sweetie Bell, but this was all I could afford,” Fluttershy said softly as she set the bag of strawberries down on the table in front of the shivering filly. “T-Thanks, F-Fl-Flutters-sh-sh-shy,” Sweetie Bell stammered, her teeth chattering. Despite being wrapped in a warm blanket, with a cup of hot chocolate, inside of a magically heated house, Sweetie Bell was freezing. Fluttershy felt a growing sense of despair as she watched the Slenderpony’s effects take its toll on the little pony in front of her.

Fluttershy began to doubt if she could truly save the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Granted, she had squared off with the Slenderpony once before, in the Everfree forest, but she was beginning to doubt how strong it had been at the time. Plus, there was no telling what this thing could and would do while hunting, as it apparently was with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Fluttershy shivered as images of rent flesh and blood-stained carcasses filled her mind. She shook her head and cleared the gruesome thoughts from her mind. If she was to save these poor fillies, she would need to be focused.

Miles away, It prepared itself for the feast to come. Its tentacles writhed in erratic patterns, even if It was standing still, as it was now. With as little as a thought, It left the field where it had been standing and was now at an apple orchard, with a sign reading Sweet Apple Acres overhead. It moved towards the house ahead, and gazed in the window. A small, light green pony with a red bow in her hair happily jumped around on the floor, apparently playing with her larger, orange-coated sister.

It took note of an elderly green pony sitting in a rocking chair, her skin wrinkled and old. She was missing most of her teeth, and moved very slowly when she rose to open the window to let in some fresh air. Standing in the doorway was a tall, muscular pony with a blonde mane. This stallion was definitely in charge of this house, as he emanated strength and paternal-care, even if he was only the older brother to these two mares, as It found out when it read his thoughts.

Go to the orchard, It whispered into Big Mac’s brain. The slithering words entered the stallion’s brain, and his eyes dilated slightly for a moment. He started walking towards the door. “Where ‘yah goin’, Big Mac?” the orange mare asked. “To the orchard,” Big Mac replied as he left the house, leaving a bewildered Applejack in his wake.

Next, It turned its attention to the little green filly, Its future meal. Ask for a sleepover with your friends, It whispered. The filly had the same reaction that her brother did, with her dilated eyes. “Hey, Applejack?” she asked, “Can ah have a sleepover with mah friends tonight?” Say yes, It whispered to Applejack. “Why, sure, Apple Bloom! After we eat supper Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell can come right over!” Applejack said.

In an instant, It teleported to Rarity’s house. It peered through a window and saw the filly, Sweetie Bell, curled up on a couch shivering. It withdrew Its presence from her mind and body, and allowed for her bodily functions to return to normal. The pony yawned and drifted off to sleep, her body recovering from the invasive presence of It. It looked and saw the infernal yellow pony with the pink mane standing there, pulling a blanket over Sweetie Bell while a white unicorn adjusted the temperature of the house.

Gutteral, primordial rage boiled up inside of It when It saw Fluttershy alive. It had been sure that the blue mare had killed her at the purple unicorn’s house. It desperately wanted to enter the house and rip her flesh from her bones, fillet her skin and harvest her organs as a tasty meal. But no, It would wait as it always did. For It was patient, and It was calculating.

Its presence in Ponyville had caused quite a shift in the weather, a sign of It returning to full power. Even now, It saw thunderheads gathering. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and It saw the faint outlined of pegasi desperately trying to revert the weather back to its usual patterns. It knew that it was a hopeless task, and It would look forward to the coming rain. Like a ghost in the night, It faded into the rising fog, disappearing an instant later.

Later that night, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Bell were gathered around a lantern in the middle of the main room in Apple Bloom’s house. The three fillies giggled, Sweetie Bell apparently recovering from her mysterious illness in a matter of moments. Granny Smith hobbled into the kitchen, holding a tray of apple fritters. She had just reached the fillies when a slithering voice whispered in her head, Open the door.

Comments

[fuiuki]

Applebloom is yellow, not green. And Sweetie is white ._. Sorry for being so dull, but yeah