Fluttershadow

"Sup Duncan!" the second shadow said back. Exie was paralyzed in fear. It just couldn't be; shadows were talking! The black figure, that of a bipedal creature of some sort, approached the doorway. Exie and Fluttershy backed inside and into a corner of the house as the silhouette strode past them.

"Not much, Craig, what's goin' on?" the second shadow, "Craig" apparently, walked right up to the first and the two interacted. Exie couldn't tell what the two phantoms were doing but they appeared to be embracing each other. She looked down at her hooves. While the first shadow appeared to be Fluttershy's, the second didn't appear to be attached to Exie. What did this mean?

The two phantoms broke apart amidst back patting. "Yo, I was just here. Where were you?" Craig asked.

The first one, Duncan, gestured over his shoulder. "Had to use the john. I'm just fixing myself something to eat; you want anything?"

"You got any beer?"

"Dude..." Duncan paused. "It's ten a.m."

"And?" Craig inquired.

"And you are not drinking all my beer before noon again. I literally just went to the store like yesterday."

"Man..." Craig sighed. "Fine. You got anything else to drink?"

"Fluttershy just brewed some new tea," Duncan offered.

Craig was quiet for a second. "I like tea." The two then, having completed some sort of apparent ritual, entered Fluttershy's kitchen together.

The two mares watched as the specters stepped out of the living room. They were both petrified in fear and dared not make a sound. Exie realized just then that Fluttershy was holding onto her as they cowered in the corner. Despite the fact her heart was still racing in near terror, Exie couldn't help but grab Fluttershy back. Gently, she let her hooves fall around the yellow Pegasus gripping her shoulders. Her eyes closed as her forelegs slid around Fluttershy and locked around the shaking mare.

Oh gawd, the feeling was incredible. She was so soft; her mane smelled like strawberry-banana, her coat was like a blanket and her wings felt as soft as duck's down. Why was it just now when their lives were in danger that she could finally get this close to her?

"Mmmm," Exie purred. "Just take me."

"What?"

Exie's eyes shot open. "Take... take me out of here. Let's get out while we can!" she whispered.

Fluttershy looked up at Exie with enormous doe-eyes. "What if they notice we're gone? What about Angelbunny and my other animals? I can't just leave them here."

Exie grabbed Fluttershy's head again. "Fluttershy, listen for a moment" This was the hardest thing she'd ever had to tell another mare. Not counting that one time she had to tell her friend Split Ends that rash was more than just what they thought it was.

Fluttershy loved the various creatures she cared for. It was strange. Her cottage was regularly home to bears, tigers, lions, sea lions, tiger sharks, care bears, honey badgers, metroids, G3 ponies, G3.5 ponies, jackalopes, Pokémon, Chewbacca and the Cobra Commander(who for the sake of this story is just a cobra named Commander).

"We'll just have to leave really quietly before they realize," Exie thought. Where could they go? "How long has your shadow been like this? What other stuff does it do?"

"I don't know..." Fluttershy admitted. "I've always found it too frightening to look at it for very long. Usually, I hide somewhere dark where it can't find me. Or, I turn off all the lights and it goes away."

"You turn off the lights and it goes away?" Exie asked to be clear. Fluttershy nodded. Was it really that easy? "Worth a shot I guess. You stay here; I'll take care of it." She took a few steps towards the kitchen.

"Wait, no. What if it gets you?" Fluttershy placed a hoof on her shoulder to stop her. "I'll go take care of it," she said, pushing past Exie. That honestly was surprising. Fluttershy hovered off, legs only slightly off the ground as to not make noise, towards the kitchen. She was being brave for her friend.

Exie found it touching that a mare that got scared so easily was facing her fears so she wouldn't be in danger. She actually felt her heart flutter. Exie still had her eyes fixed solely on one aspect of Fluttershy as the Pegasus flutter-snuck towards the wall. Stuck in a haunted house at the edge of the woods, she still had only one thing on her mind. She would have to reward herself for her patience and self-control later. If they both survived.

Fluttershy stuck her head around the wall separating the living room from the kitchen. The two specters sat at the same table she and Exie had sat at only moments ago. A fork hovered over a plate of the pasta she'd had for dinner a few nights ago. It dipped into the dish, twisted and rose carrying sauce-covered noodles. The fork than floated to the top of the shadow and the end disappeared. When it emerged, the fork was empty.

They were eating her food. Drinking her tea. But she couldn't worry about that now. She flew into the kitchen.

"Hey Fluttershy," Duncan greeted her. "This is some pretty good tea." The two voices were distinct, allowing her to tell them apart. For all the good that would do her. Duncan was still attached to her hooves but she ignored him as she fluttered over to the kitchen window.

She pulled the curtains closed making the room immediately darker. Nothing changed. Fluttershy watched for a reaction but the two shadows still sat their in the now dimly-lit kitchen. Shadows shouldn't even have been able to be cast and yet still, the dark wraiths carried on. Eating her food. Drinking her tea. Sweat began to trickle down her forehead.

Duncan cleared his throat and sat up. Two thick, shady branches materialized from the top of the shadow. They spread far out as if to reach out and grasp Fluttershy. Without warning, the ends rushed towards each other and collided in an explosion of noise that echoed throughout the room. Fluttershy jolted but before she could flee, they repeated the action.

A light hanging from the ceiling turned on, illuminating the kitchen. Duncan sat back down.

"Nice, you installed a clapper?" Craig asked.

"They call them cloppers over here. Got it off Amazon brand new for like eight bits."

Craig snickered. "It's actually called a clopper? Are you serious?"

The fork lowered. "Bro, not in front of Fluttershy."

"Right right... I forgot how sensitive your roomie is."

Duncan shook his head. "She's not sensitive. She's actually pretty kickass when you get to know her."

Fluttershy backed away at the sound of her name. What on Equestria were they talking about? What did they want with her?!

"Yo Fluttershy?" Duncan said. Fluttershy froze. "Tell him about that time you schooled a dragon."

The yellow Pegasus squeaked and dashed out of the kitchen, terrified. She nearly ran into Exie who was still standing with her back in the corner by the door.

"Did it work?" Exie asked.

"N-n-n-n," Fluttershy stuttered between pants, looking around.

"No?"

"No..."

"No," Exie turned her head away, cursing, thinking. How could they possibly get rid of two shadows? This wasn't something she should even be THINKING about. But that gave her an idea... she stared outside the window. This whole situation didn't make sense. So, the only way to solve a problem that didn't make sense was with a legitimate solution that didn't make sense. And that made sense. At least, she thought it did.

She turned back to Fluttershy. "I have an idea. You're going to have to follow my lead, stick close, and do exactly what I say. Okay?"

The yellow Pegasus nodded, though her eyes were filled with uncertainty.