I had been staring at the picture on my computer screen for 3 minutes now. The legend said that you had to stare at it for a solid 5 minutes, never looking away. Seeing as how I couldn't look at my clock, I decided to listen to a song that lasted five minutes. Leonard Cohen, my favorite musician.
Sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself. Hello, My name is Daniel. I live ... used to live in California. I made a little habit out of debunking internet legends. I never posted the stuff I found, lest I want people to think I don't have a life, or I offend those who made up said legends. Anyway, I heard about a picture. A picture that, if you stare at for five minutes, you will have a nightmare about the subject in the picture. Only the subject will be vomiting and try to take your soul, which is
how most of those internet urban legends seem to play out.
No matter how hard I looked, I could never find any information about the picture, other than the legend about it. Thinking it was just another hoax, I took a glance at my clock. 2:30 am. I decided to watch an episode of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic.
... What? It's a great show.
Anyway, the episode I watched was about Fluttershy having to take care of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Detecting the inevitable shenanigans, I paused the video on Youtube to let it load, and decided to read a fanfic that I had been tracking on Deviantart. Much 'something something' Nothing, I can't remember. The author had a poll on her page, asking what she should write next. Among the choices were clop material, fantasy, adorableness, and horror. Being a horror fan myself, I went to click the checkbox, but the icon the author had chosen to represent the genre had caught my eye. Seeing it for the first time, I couldn't make out what it was due to it's constant flashing, but I decided to click it out of morbid curiosity.
It turned out to be Fluttershy, but she had gone over a drastic change. Her wings appeared to be as sharp as a sword. Her teeth were fanged and bloody. Her eyes were small and of a bright crimson, and they dripped with a black substance. Her mane was messy and disheveled. Her whole body was covered in blood, and she was giving a wicked smile. I'm shamed to admit, I approved of this dark Fluttershy, or Bloodershy, as the account called it.
Below the picture was a small bit of text. My memory is fuzzy, but I think it said 'If you stare at this picture long enough, you will have a dream about a similar fluttershy, and she will take your soul and make you her minion' and all of that demented jazz.
Seeing as how I had been looking for this picture, I went to work to debunk it. Since five minutes seem to always work, or in this case not work, I put on my headphones, set my favorite song to play for the entirety, and began to stare.
Four minutes and 30 seconds. The picture had began to blur, a common side effect of staring at something too long. Finally the song had ended and I blinked. The after image was burned in my retinas. It would go away within time.
I looked at my clock again. 2:50 am. I yawned, fatigue beginning to set in. I closed the window, sad I never got a chance to watch my favorite episode, shut down the computer, and walked up the stairs to bed. I turned off the lights, and almost immediately after that, I heard something fall. I took a look in the darkness and saw nothing. I assumed I was paranoid and continued my ascent. I opened the door to my room, slipped into bed and fell asleep.
I awoke, and found myself in a dark forest. I realized I was in a dream, but this was the most realistic dream I ever had. I heard a rustle behind me. I turned to look, and I saw what looked like a pony, but it was strange. It moved about all weird, like it didn't have any joints. I was beginning to get creeped out, so I closed my eyes and imagined myself on a sunny side beach. I opened my eyes, and the strange pony was closer, looking at me. I closed my eyes again, and imagined myself in New York, enjoying a hot dog. I opened my eyes, the pony was closer, and I realized it as the 'Bloodershy' I saw when I was awake.
I was desperate. This time I tried to imagine myself in my dingy apartment, the job I work at, anything but this place. I was afraid to open my eyes, but I had to. Slowly, I found myself staring right into the eyes of the dark Fluttershy.
"This is just a dream. This is just a dream. Please god, let it be just a dream." I began to chant.
"This isn't a dream, I'm afraid." The dark fluttershy said, her voice was like the very hell she was from.
"Yes it is! There's no way this is real, you're not real!"
"Then how can I do this?" She took my hand in her hoof, and then I felt a pressure. With a loud snap, my wrist was broken.
"AAAGGHHH! HOW THE HELL DOES THIS HURT!? THIS IS JUST A DREAM!" I tried to run away, but Bloodershy broke my legs before I could get the second step.
In intense pain, I got on my back to look at the dark fluttershy. She was five feet away, so I tried to crawl. She laughed, and I turned to look at her again. Now she was six feet away. I was too tired to crawl, and I laid there, staring at Bloodershy. Then, without warning, she was directly over me, I didn't even see her move.
I used my arms to support my upper body. She took my chin in her hoof, I was afraid she was going to snap my neck. Instead, she did something I never saw coming.
Our lips met, and my eyes widened. If I wasn't in such intense pain, I would have been embarrassed. Than my surprised turned to horror. I felt a liquid run into my throat. It tasted putrid. I tried to get away, but her grip was tight. Finally, the horrible tasting liquid stopped, and she let go. I turned over on my stomach, and threw up on the ground. The contents were the horrible liquid, which looked like black nothingness. I turned back to the dark Fluttershy, but she wasn't there. Then I passed out.
I woke up to the bed I fell asleep in. I looked around, everything was in it's place. I brought a hand to my chest and took a deep breath. It was just a dream.
I got out of bed, and went to the bathroom. I undressed and took a look into the mirror. I was horrified to see my reflection. My eyes were gone, and my mouth had black liquid dripping from it.
Now, everyone I look at, my friends and family, everyone looks like the horrible image that i saw in my mirror that day. I live alone, off the land in a place I'd rather not tell you, lest someone try to find me. Please don't look for me, I can't stand to see that face anymore. I just needed to tell the story, you don't have to believe me, but someone will believe it, which is good enough for me. Just, please, don't look for me.
