Rainbow Dash screamed in agony, just beyond the thick wooden door which was the entrance to Twilight's tree home. What was happening to her out there, to make her scream in such a way, was sickening to even think about. Pinkie Pie lay dead on the floor of the library. Her face was almost unrecognizable after what had happened. Her mouth was shattered from the inside out, bits of bony flesh poking out in areas where the skin had cut open. Her eyes were a darkened shade of red with a mixture of tears and blood still dribbling out of the sockets.
Twilight in her panic, knowing that The Whispers were in her home, was attempting to ignore the foul smells which came from but a few meters behind her. Fluttershy cuddled next to Twilight as tears poured from her eyes. For Fluttershy, this was the only comfort she had in a situation such as this, but for Twilight it was just another distraction as she read through the book in front of her. She wouldn't tell Fluttershy she wasn't helping though, she was scared enough as it was. The book gave plenty of description about what the creatures were and where they came from, but had nothing on how to stop them.
"T-Twilight..?" Fluttershy said to her in between the tears.
"What is it, Fluttershy?" She replied, forcing a smile past her fear.
"Are we going to die? I don't want to die, I want to go home..." She sobbed quietly.
"We'll be fine, I promise." Twilight whispered back.
She then turned her attention back to the book in front of her.
"Whispers are invisible and use this with their incredible silence while moving to stalk prey. However, this strength is also their greatest weakness. When coated in a liquid or powdery substance, they will take shape and become visible. This is the only possible way to know that a Whisper is coming and can be used to the preys advantage while trying to escape... that's it! Fluttershy, go to the kitchen quick! Find a container and fill it with water. I'll stay here and see if there is anything else in this book."
Fluttershy wiped her eyes and nodded quickly before running into the kitchen. The air was much cleaner in this area of the home. The smell was that of cleaning products rather than bloody flesh and vomit. Fluttershy welcomed the new smell greatly and began to search for a container. She sifted through the many cupboards that lined the outsides of Twilight's kitchen. After little more than a minute of searching, she came across a bucket. It was large and more than light enough for her to carry. Fluttershy reached into the cupboard and pulled out the bucket with her mouth. She then used her hoof to lift up the lever of the tap, avoiding pushing it up too far. She knew too well this was a life and death situation, but she couldn't help it. She hated splashing water everywhere, and now was not an exception.
After another minute or so of filling the bucket up with water, she began to walk quickly back to Twilight, who was still reading her book. She took great care with every step to avoid spilling even a drop of water on the floor and wasting it. She then rested the bucket beside Twilight's book and tapped Twilight on the shoulder, who now had a grin on her face.
"Um... Twilight, I got the water for you." Fluttershy said with a sense of accomplishment in her voice.
"That's great news. But we won't be needing it anymore." Twilight spoke quietly. She then turned her head to Fluttershy, still with the grin on her face.
"Why wouldn't we need the wat..." Fluttershy instantly recognized the grin. It was the same grin Rarity had, the same one Applejack had... the same one Pinkie Pie had. The grin was the same one every resident of Ponyville had before dying.
Twilight then opened her mouth and spoke in a grunted tone, not much louder than a whisper.
"We have her now, Fluttershy. She's already dead. I think you deserve some sort of medal. You're the last pony in this vile town to have some sort of chance at surviving."
"Please don't kill her," Fluttershy squeaked, tears blocking her vision once again. "She's my last friend..."
The now possessed Twilight moved closer to Fluttershy and stroked her hair gently. She continued to speak in the horrific whispering voice.
"I'm sorry, but it's what we do. How could Celestia take our threats seriously if we let anypony live just because another one said we should let them live? But I know what's just as good, maybe even better... I'll let your friend here control her thoughts while I control her actions. Sound good to you?"
Fluttershy cried quietly. She didn't want to lose another friend. It would destroy her. The grin then left Twilight's face as she gained control over her mind once again.
"Hey, Fluttershy! You got the water, now we might have a chance!"
Fluttershy continued to cry as Twilight walked up to one of her bookshelves. Twilight now knew she was just a puppet of the Whispers and was as good as dead.
"I'm... I'm sorry Fluttershy... I should have made us stick together. It's all my fault. Just promise me when this is over, when they're gone, that you'll remember us."
"I'll never forget you!" Fluttershy spoke through her sobs. Twilight had now removed one of the shelves of the bookcase, and was carrying it to the kitchen in her mouth.
"Whatever this thing does to me, I won't cry. I won't give this thing the satisfaction it craves." Twilight said as she lay the wooden shelf over a lit candle. As the shelf began to catch alight, Twilight reached into a cupboard and pulled out two bottles of cleaning liquids. Both were marked as flammable.
"Oh no... no no no no!" Fluttershy screamed. She'd seen what had happened to the others, she knew she'd suffer if she tried to stop what was happening to Twilight. The now powerless unicorn began to spill the liquids inside the bottles all around the room and then lifted the now half burnt shelf with her front hooves.
"I'm sorry Fluttershy. I love you." Were the last words Twilight spoke before dropping the burning wood onto the floor. Within seconds, the whole kitchen had become a bonfire. Standing in the middle of it, unable to move, was Twilight. The flames slowly started to engulf her entire body as Fluttershy watched. Twilight's skin started to blister and peel off, allowing her flesh to be exposed to the flames. She was in immense pain and wanted to scream, but she kept her promise to Fluttershy and she wouldn't break it. Fluttershy's tears covered most of her face now, she knew her friend was in pain and she wasn't showing it. The flames were now starting to spread quickly into the main library, but she ignored the increasing heat so she could keep Twilight company in her final moments.
The flames were now starting to melt Twilight's face. Her fleshy cheeks had become exposed and boiling blood poured from her mouth, which stung her even more. She then collapsed into the flames and no longer became visible. She had passed out from the immense pain and was now left for dead. If she had collapsed it was likely the Whisper had left her body to come for Fluttershy. A sudden burst of fire then broke out of the kitchen, and sprayed small fireballs all around Fluttershy. The room was burning uncontrollably and the front door was blocked by the countless objects barricading the door. She had no choice but to run upstairs and escape through the window. As she began to run to Twilight's sleeping quarters she turned her head to look back at the kitchen, where her friend had died seconds before. While looking back, she noticed something in the flames.
In the middle of the room, the fire was forming a shape. It seemed to form a body like shape, once and for all revealing the Whisper. It seemed to be panicking, flailing around to try and stop the flames. Fluttershy stared at it, pleased to see that the monster responsible for her friends death was in the same pain it had given out without a care.
The flames were now at the bottom of the stairway, and catching up with Fluttershy who had taken a moment to watch Twilight's killer burn. Once at the top of the stairs, Fluttershy noticed something wrong. The bookcase which would usually be at the opposite side of the room to Twilight's bed was now propped up against the window. The Whisper that got inside must have realized this was an escape route and made a rushed effort to block it before moving down to kill them.
Fluttershy forced all of the little strength she had inside her to try and move the bookcase away from the window. The more she tried, the more she began to accept that it was over. She had no chance of escaping her fiery death now. She eventually stopped trying to move the bookcase out of the way and laid down facing towards the quickly approaching flames. The tears stopped coming out as she began to talk to herself.
"What's the point... Even if I could get outside, a Whisper would just be waiting for me. All of my friends are dead, all of my pets are dead... I have nothing left. It's pointless trying to survive when there's nothing to look forward to afterwards." Segments of the floor which had become unstable began to collapse onto the space below the bedroom. Fluttershy didn't care. She just wanted it all to be over so she could be away from all of this forever. The fire had now spread to the top of the tree and burnt the little support it had. One by one, the supports gave way and the top of the tree began to collapse around her in fragile parts. Fluttershy sighed and closed her eyes. She could now feel the heat against her face and the smoke was making her feel sick. In the final moments before the fire reached her, Fluttershy smiled and a single tear came from her left eye.
She'd be with her friends soon, and that made her happy.
There was nothing in Fluttershy's mind.
It was empty.
Just a never ending trail of darkness.
Fluttershy opened her eyes, her vision was now extremely blurry. Was she dead? She didn't feel dead. As her vision began to clear she was greeted by the faces of two ponies. She recognized both of them. One of them was Princess Celestia and the other was... Rainbow Dash? Fluttershy's eyes now opened wide and she quickly sprung up to a sitting position.
"You're awake then, I'll take it?" Princess Celestia spoke with a smile.
"Why, yes. I'm awake... but... how am I alive? How are you alive, Rainbow Dash? I heard the Whispers kill you."
"That's easy, I pretended to kill myself!" Rainbow dash said, also bearing a proud smile. "I just pretended to crash land so the whispers would leave me alone. When the tree was burning, part of the side fell off and I saw you inside. You were starting to catch fire so I took my chances and got you out of there. After that I brought us to Canterlot to find Princess Celestia."
"I can't thank you enough!" Fluttershy said, making sure Rainbow Dash saw her gratitude.
"It was nothing, really." Rainbow Dash replied. Fluttershy then reached out to hug her, tears beginning to build up in her eyes. Celestia then continued to speak.
"You two are very lucky to survive an attack from the Whispers. They are an old enemy of mine and they're going to continue their cowardly attacks all over Equestria. Don't worry though, I have a plan which will stop them for good." Rainbow Dash faced the Princess.
"So we can stop them?"
"We can and will stop them," Celestia replied. "But we have to wait until the time is right. Also, before I forget, when Fluttershy recovers, you two and a group of others are going to be sent back to Ponyville to rebuild. You'll be the new mayors when it is done."
"Oh my. That is a big request." Fluttershy said with surprise.
"We can run Ponyville, Fluttershy! It'll be fun!" Rainbow Dash reassured her.
"It's good to know that both of you are willing to accept the responsibility. You're welcome to stay in the palace until you've recovered and ready to go back to Ponyville." On that note, Celestia left the room through the arched marble doorway.
After 2 weeks of recovering from her burns, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash along with their team of builders were sent back to Ponyville to begin rebuilding. As they entered the once busy town, they were hit instantly by the grotesque memories of the weeks before. The dead bodied littering the streets and the foul smells which filled the air became fresh in their minds once again. There were only a couple of damaged houses still standing in Ponyville now. After Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy escaped, the fire spread through the whole town and sealing the fate of anyone who may have still been alive.
"Alright, you two go around and plan out where we can build and we'll get to taking down these remains." The repair team leader said.
"OK, thanks." Rainbow Dash said back. "Fluttershy, let's go. Fluttershy?"
Rainbow Dash looked around to see Fluttershy standing in the middle of where Twilight's library used to stand. Rainbow Dash flew over and landed beside her.
"They're all gone... why didn't they take us? Why couldn't we die instead of them?" Fluttershy spoke quietly. She was trying to hold back her tears as she stared at where the kitchen used to be.
"Come on, Fluttershy. I know they're gone and it makes me sad too, but they'd want us to carry on with our lives normally. Now come one, let's start rebuilding this place." Rainbow dash patted her gently on the shoulder and flew back over to the builders. Fluttershy looked to Rainbow Dash and then back to the ground where Twilight died. Her tears began to flow out, but she was smiling.
"We'll never forget you." She whispered as she began to hover in the air and slowly fly over to Rainbow Dash.
She would remember what had happened until the day she died. The Whispers had destroyed countless lives, but soon they would know how it felt to have their close ones taken away from them.
Thank your for reading my first fic, you magnificent muffins. I know this story wasn't great and I know it probably has a lot of basic errors, but I hope it provided you with some sort of entertainment.
I may work on a prequel which ends where this story begins, but that's only if I feel that people really want one. In the meantime, enjoy your day and leave any constructive criticism below to help me make my next fic better.
