Fluttershy awoke with a gasp and jolted upward from her bed. Her heart was beating mercilessly in her chest, and her body glistened with sweat. Eyes wide, Fluttershy immediately began scanning her room, her head darting back and forth, searching for any trace of danger. Her search yielded nothing aside from eerie silence and darkness. With a weakened exhale, Fluttershy collapsed back onto her bed. 'It was just a dream' she thought, trying to comfort herself. No such relief was granted.
The poor pegasus had been robbed of undisturbed sleep for days. The same nightmare plagued her, haunted her, and tortured her consistently, seemingly getting worse each time, if such a thing were possible. It seemed that every time Fluttershy so much as rested her eyes the nightmare infested her head, clawing away at her sanity. Every thought, every movement, every noise reminded her of her psychological tormentor. No matter the time, the task or the company, the nightmare was always there, watching and waiting. Waiting for her to succumb to her exhaustion so it could mentally molest her once more.
With a heavy sigh, Fluttershy dragged herself out of bed, knowing she'd be unable to return to sleep. She slowly trotted toward her window with the intent of opening it when a loud crash ripped through her house, causing the timid pegasus to let out a quiet, terrified squeak.
Fluttershy immediately darted under her bed, looking nervously toward her staircase. Her eyes filled with terror as she saw a dark silhouette slowly walk up the stairs, the floor boards straining under every step.
"Fluuuuttershy, oh Fluuuuuttershy, come out and play~", a sadistic, demonic laugh emanated from the creature. It's voice filled her with absolute terror. The creature began searching the room for her, leaving nothing unchecked.
Fluttershy trembled in fear, slowly trying to worm her way further under the bed. The floor beneath Fluttershy began to creak as she moved resulting in the creature's head instantly turning to face her. Fluttershy stopped all movement, going so far as to hold her breath to avoid detection. The intruder seemed to be staring right at her, right through her. She would've liked nothing more than to look away, but her eyes were transfixed on the shadow, too scared to look anywhere else.
"I see youuu~", teased the creature, in playful, disturbing voice.
The creature slowly began walking toward her, a heavy thud resonating with every step. Fluttershy felt a shiver run up her spine as the very air around her became unnaturally cold. She attempted to run, but her legs refused to give. To her horror, Fluttershy couldn't move. As the beast came closer and closer, Fluttershy began whimpering, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. The shadowy figure now stood at the foot of her bed, literally two feet away from her. It's breathing dominated Fluttershy's hearing. It's breathing was shallow, with every inhale came a disturbing crackling sound, and with every exhale came a low, distorted growl.
To her surprise however, Fluttershy wasn't ripped out from under the bed. The silhouette paused, as if scanning the room for any trace of her. To her relief, the shadow turned around and began walking away, descending down her stairs.
Fluttershy closed her eyes and let out a soft exhale, as a feeling of relief washed over her. She slowly opened her eyes, only to be greeted by the glowing blood red eyes of her pursuer.
"I fouuuund youuu~".
She tried to scream, but her half formed cry stayed stuck in her throat. She couldn't move, she couldn't scream, and she couldn't close her eyes. All she could do is watch as the living nightmare formed a twisted and grotesque smile, displaying rows of bloodied teeth. It unleashed a blood curdling scream, the likes of which the terrified pegasus had never heard. The monstrosity lunged, and everything faded to black.
