Pins and Needles

PLEASE READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTES FIRST. IT'S YOUR ONLY CHANCE TO SAVE YOURSELF.

Grey awoke with a throbbing pain in his forehead. He reached up and felt something wet. He rushed to the light switch and flipped it. He looked at his reflection in his bathroom mirror and discovered that he had a huge gash in his head. He quickly wrapped it with gauze and wondered what could have caused it. He looked in the mirror again to make sure he stopped the bleeding when he saw something strange hovering above his shoulder. He quickly swatted at it, thinking it was a fly, but it cried out as he hit it. Grey jumped back and questioned, “Did you just talk? Flies don't talk!” Upon closer inspection, it wasn't a fly; but some kind of incredibly small winged horse.

“Yes sir,” It spoke while rubbing it's head, “But I'm not a fly, I'm a pegasus. My name is Fluttershy.” The pegasus flew onto Grey's open hand. She was tiny, not as small as a fly like he had originally thought, but small enough to be mistaken for an insect. She shyly turned her head away from him and said, “I'm the one who caused that cut in your forehead. I can go back inside... if that's ok with you.”

Grey grabbed his forehead with his other hand, and answered, “No that will be fine. I have no idea how you came out of my head, but I think getting back in there will be harmful to both of us. Besides, you're pretty cool. It's not everyday that you see a bite size talking flying pony. You can stay with me if you want, seeing as you have nowhere to go.”

Fluttershy whispered, “Um, I don't mean to be a bother, but if you say so Mr... uh..”

“Grey.”

“Yes sir. Mr. Grey.”

Grey smiled, “You're so cute! I can't wait to take you to school with me. I'm sure everyone will love you.”

Fluttershy blushed, “Oh I couldn't! I don't like being the center of attention. I would rather stay here, and wait if that's ok with you...”

“Come on Fluttershy. I'll make sure no one hurts you, ok?” Fluttershy slowly nodded. “Alright! It's settled then! Don't worry, I'm sure you'll have a great time.” Grey got ready for school, Fluttershy ever hovering over his shoulder, except when he said to turn around while he got dressed. He fed the pegasus a small crumb of bread and hurried outside. Grey lived near his school so it was easy to walk there. Fluttershy like being outside as well. She would occasionally leave his shoulder to go smell some kind of flower, or say high to an animal, surprisingly none of which tried to attack her. It was like she had an affinity for nature. It then dawned on him that Fluttershy was really unnatural, and if it was a good idea to let her just fly around in public.

“Grey! Is that your school?” Fluttershy alighted on his shoulder, gazing at the large building they were approaching.

Grey smiled, “Sure is! You know, I was thinking. If you don't want to introduce yourself, you can hide in my hoodie while we're at school. Does that sound good?”

“Oh thank goodness yes!” Fluttershy quickly disappeared with the depths of the hood, “I'm super shy around new people. I always feel like my heart's gonna explode or something!” Grey was sort of relieved, at least now he might not have to explain what Fluttershy was. He had been so caught up in the excitement before that he really hadn't thought it through. He heard the bell ring, and hurried into school so as not to be late.

Grey's first two classes went smoothly. Fluttershy kept quiet inside of his hoodie except for a few times when she moved around. Every time she did, Grey hoped that no one noticed that his hood was moving, but no one said anything. All that changed when he arrived at his third class. Grey both loved and hated his third class of the day. He loved it because his girlfriend, Silva, was in the same class; and he hated it because a bully named Alex was also in the same class. He picked on Grey from time to time, but Grey tried his best to ignore it. Today class was quiet. Alex just sat in the back with his friends and Silva sat behind Grey. About halfway through though, Silva noticed something sticking out of Grey's hood. She leaned in and whispered, “Hey you have some kind of thread on your jacket. I'll get it for you.” Grey nodded and thought nothing of it. By the time he realized what she was referring too, it was too late. Silva grabbed Fluttershy by the tail, screamed, and tossed the pegasus in the air. Fluttershy was unable to gain control, and landed on another desk. Alex's desk.

Alex scooped her up and held her by the tail, “Whoa. What do we have here?” He poked Fluttershy with one grimy finger which made her squeak. “Some kind of hamster or something? It's got wings too!” He pulled at Fluttershy's wings which made her start crying from the pain.

Fearing that a fight was breaking out, the teacher, who was incredibly weak and passive, rushed out of the room to get the principal or some other teacher. Grey jumped up and grabbed at Fluttershy, but Alex was too fast. Grey grabbed again and yelled, “Give her back! She's not yours!”

Alex pushed Grey away, “Well if YOU want it so bad, then I really want to keep it.” Grey came at him again, but Alex kicked him into a few more desks. “Hey, I have an idea. Let's see what it's insides look like. There's no one in the biology lab right now, and I'm sure they won't mind a little mess.” Alex rushed out of the classroom with Grey right behind him. Grey's heart was pounding. Alex was seriously going to kill Fluttershy, and he needed to make sure that didn't happen.

By the time Grey reached the biology lab, Alex was already holding Fluttershy down with one hand and holding a scalpel in his other hand. He slowly put the tip of the scalpel against Fluttershy's chest and started to make an incision. Blood started gushing out of the wound and Fluttershy cried in pain. Before Alex could go any farther, Grey picked up a large beaker and broke it over Alex's head. The impact made Alex drop the scalpel and stagger away from Fluttershy. Through blood and tears of pain, Alex rushed Grey and soon both of them were on the floor fighting. It wasn't long before a group of teachers entered the room and broke up the fight. The two were sent off to the principle's office. Leaving Fluttershy there to possibly bleed to death.

Grey and Alex were sent home early that day, and given two week's worth of detention. It was surprising that Grey wasn't suspended or expelled, but he had never been in a fight before and was let off easy. Before leaving, he checked to see if Fluttershy was still there. She wasn't. The only signs of the incident were broken glass on the floor and some blood on the table. Grey left in tears. For the rest of the day he sat in his room, staring contemplatively at the wall. “How could that have possibly happen? I shouldn't have brought her to school. I'm so stupid!” He pounded his fist against the wall repeatedly, but nothing he could do could shake the emotional pain he felt. Then the doorbell rang, so he slowly got up and dragged his feet all the way to the door. He opened the door to a pleasant surprise. Standing there was Silva holding a bandaged Fluttershy in her hands. “Silva! Fluttershy! You... You're alive!” He gingerly grabbed Fluttershy and broke into tears, “I'm so sorry! I should have never taken you to school. It's all my fault that you were hurt.”

“No, it's not your fault, Grey.” Fluttershy hopped onto Grey's shoulder and cuddled against his face, “If it weren't for you, I would be dead by now. Thank you so much Grey!” Grey nodded and continued to cry. He then looked at Silva, who smiled.

“Thank you Silva,” The two humans hugged, “You were the one who really saved Fluttershy.”

Silva let go of Grey and said, “It's not a problem, Grey. I don't know what that thing is, but I know you were very worried about her. I have to get home, but you owe me an explanation... and maybe dinner sometime.” She waved and walked away.

Grey waved back, and shut the door. He couldn't believe it. Fluttershy was alive. Alive! He couldn't have been happier. That night, Grey showed Fluttershy all of the wonders of his world, that she didn't have in her world. She was incredibly fond of the television which she continued to watch as Grey went to sleep. Fluttershy was watching movies well into the night which didn't bother Grey until he heard a series of screams. He bolted upright, and rushed into the living room. Fluttershy was there silhouetted by the light from the TV. He walked closer to see what she was so intently watching. It went to a commercial, but the announcer said, “Slaughterhouse Six: Destruction is Magic will be right back after this commercial break!” Grey was surprised.

“Slaughterhouse? Isn't that too scary a movie for you, Fluttershy?” Fluttershy shook her head, and kept her eyes glued to the TV. Grey picked her up and said, “If you watch anymore of that you'll probably give yourself nightmares. Besides, it's late. Aren't you sleepy?” Fluttershy nodded and yawned. Grey smiled and took her back to his room where he laid her on a pillow on the nightstand next to his bed. She slept silently, and soon Grey himself went back to sleep.

The next day was pretty normal. Grey left Fluttershy at home, and no one even asked him about what had happened yesterday. Alex normally interrupted class, so it was nothing special to anyone. Grey had to explain what Fluttershy was and she took it pretty well. Apparently a tiny flying horse wasn't as miraculous as Grey thought it was. Later that day, Grey made dinner for Silva at his house. She and Fluttershy seemed to get along, but Fluttershy left halfway through the meal. After the two humans were finished eating, Silva got up to leave and walked her to the door. They kissed and said there goodbyes and Grey closed the door. He looked around the room for Fluttershy, but she was nowhere to be seen. He guessed she just needed some time to herself, but after a few hours he began to worry.

“Fluttershy? You there?” Silence. Grey wandered the house looking high and low for Fluttershy, but couldn't find her. As he was looking through the kitchen he noticed that there was a light on in the shed behind his house. He walked over to investigate. There were footprints in the dirt leading up to the small building, and the door was slightly open. A strong smell lingered around the place, and it made Grey gag. As he got closer, Grey could hear Fluttershy talking.

“Don't fidget so much. It's just a few pins and needles.” Curious, Grey looked inside and was horrified by what he saw. Silva was strapped to a chair, gagged with an old rag, and her shirt was ripped open. Sticking out of her body were hundreds of different objects. Nails, screws, toothpicks, steel pins, and other miscellaneous objects pierced her skin and drew blood which ran down her white skin like hundreds of crimson rivers. Fluttershy picked up another toothpick and pressed it into her neck. Silva screamed through her gag, and Fluttershy shook her head, “The other one took his punishment much better than you did. You should learn from him. He got the POINT!” As she emphasized the last word, Fluttershy kicked the toothpick into Silva's neck. Silva let out one last cry then her body went limp. “Done already? Well, that will teach you to stay away from Grey. He's mine now.” Fluttershy untied the rags keeping Silva to the chair, and Silva's body slumped to the floor.

Grey slammed the door open and rushed over to her, “Silva!” He held her in his arms, but he got no response. She wasn't breathing, and he couldn't feel a pulse. He cried into her, but stopped and dropped her on the ground. He jumped away from Fluttershy, the seemingly harmless pegasus that killed his girlfriend. “Why did you do this Fluttershy? What's wrong with you?”

Fluttershy brandished the pin that she held and said, “Why? Well, let's start with that one in the corner. He tried to cut me open, so I returned the favor.” Grey looked at the spot that Fluttershy mentioned. There, in the corner of the shed, was Alex's festering dead body. Already it was starting to rot and was most likely the source of the horrible smell. There were flies swarming around his body and a few rats gnawing at his entrails. Next to his dead body was a filet knife covered in dried blood.

“You... you split him open?” Grey fought the urge to throw up, and put a hand over his mouth.

Fluttershy smiled an evil smile, “Yes. I did. If that's ok with you. I saw how he hurt you. How he hurt me. How he hurt us.”

Grey looked at Fluttershy and glanced momentarily at Silva, “Well why did you kill her? I thought you two were getting along?”

Fluttershy frowned, “No! She was getting in between me and you. She didn't deserve to be with you. You saved my life, so I saved your life. From her.”

Grey backed towards the door, “You! You're crazy! I'm getting out of here.” He turned to leave, but fell on a can that was littering the ground. He hit his head hard. He lay face-up on the ground as darkness started to creep into his vision. The last thing he saw before darkness took him was Fluttershy, brandishing that steel pin.