Doctor Whooves: Night of the ShadowFright

Diamond Tiara woke to a dark misty haze.  Blearily she peered around to get her bearings but as far as she could see there was nothing but fog and shadow.  She dashed in one direction but found no exit or even any change in scenery.  Then she galloped in the direction she came until she was panting for breath, but her environment was as formless and unchanging as ever.  She couldn't even determine for certain if she was where she started.

"Alright," she scoffed at the shadows.  "Knock it off. You had your laugh, now let me out of here."

After a mental count of three, she shouted. "I said, let me out! I haven't got all day!"

She waited with her nose in the air but, again, there was no response.

"Do you know who my daddy is?" she demanded.  She kept her voice steady, but truthfully she was beginning to worry.  As the daughter of the wealthiest and most respected entrepreneur in Ponyville, she was accustomed to promptly being given what she wanted.  The only exceptions were Ms. Cheerillee, whom she was certain her father was enamored with (gag!), and that trio of losers with their hick ringleader.

"O-okay Applebloom," stammered Tiara shakily, trying to keep an eye on every direction at once.  "You had your fun. You an your Blank Flank Brigade finally put one over on me! Bravo! I'm genuinely impressed. Really. So, let me out already."

She hesitated a moment before venturing, "...please?"

She was answered only with silence.

Never had the filly experience such awful silence.  Not even on the darkest scariest night did she feel so utterly exposed and vulnerable. And even then she was at least safe in her bed with her goose down sheets, satin pillows and plush gecko that not even Silver Spoon knew about to curl up with.  And where outrageously expensive material possessions failed, she could always find her father in his study, where he would smile at her, have the servants bring her hot cocoa and read her the revenue return reports until she nodded off to sleep.

But here there were no goose down sheets, no satin pillow, no gecko, no hot cocoa, no servants, no daddy.

She was alone.

With nothing to do, Diamond Tiara chose a direction and began walking.  The mist and shadows surrounding her shifted and flowed about, making it impossible to tell if she was making any progress at all.  There didn't even appear to be any ground beneath her hooves.  She immediately dismissed this line of thought, fearing that the act of realizing there was no ground would cause her to plummet to her doom, like in those inane cartoons Pinkie Pie enjoys.

So childish!

Tiara whirled around.  She was certain she had heard something, a whisper in the surrounding haze.

After a few moments of scrutiny, she began walking again albeit a bit more cautiously.

Such an airhead!

"Who's there?" demanded the little pink filly desperately hoping it came off authoritative and not like a panicked squeak. "I know somepony's there so you might as well come out where I can see you!"

Abruptly where there was silence there came a steady steam of whisperings and grumblings and murmurs.  They didn't come from any direction in particular, but seemed to cascade from every which way at once.  Diamond Tiara couldn't decipher them all between the echo of the strange environment she found herself in and the sheer volume of voices speaking all at once.  She only managed to pick up snippets here and there.

...such a loser!

...always so rude!

...can't stand...

Why can't she just...?

...nasty piece of...

...What's her damage?

Tiara glared everywhere at once.

"Oh I get it," she scoffed in annoyance.  "Very cute. Trying show me the error of my ways by making me listen to every nasty remark I've made, every rumor I've spread, every insult, put down, and trash-talk I ever committed to show me how much I've hurt the other foals, hoping I'll learn some life-changing lesson about friendship or some such garbage. Well, bring it on you creepy mist-thing! I'm not going to learn squat! You think I don't know that the things I say hurt? Of course they do, that's why I say them! Because those other kids need to be taught their place and I'm just the girl to..."

Diamond Tiara...

Tiara stopped mid-rant at the mention of her name.  "What?"

...such an awful child.

"What?"

...so mean!

"What?!"

One of the worst students I've ever had drifted the voice of Ms. Cheerilee.

"But...but..."

No denying it sighed her father's voice. She's a hoofful.

"Wait, I..."

Oh no, it's Tiara the Terrible muttered the voice of some colt she sometimes sees on the playground.  Let's get out of here before she notices us enjoying ourselves and decides to ruin it.

Aww, lamented another. She ruins everything!

"How dare..."

Awful, she's just awful! cried Sweetie Belle.  Why can't she just leave us alone?

Because she's awful? offered Scootaloo, dark anger in her voice.

I actually feel kinda bad for her, sighed Applebloom.

"You feel bad for me?!" shrieked Diamond Tiara. Her initial shock and the quick fire succession of all the whispered slurs against her were all that was keeping her growing indignation in check but this, this, was the final straw.  "I'm rich, pretty, have my cutie mark, and popul-" she caught herself before sourly adding the addendum, "-well, clearly not as popular as I thought. But even so, I'm far better off than you, you, you destitute, inbred, backwards, bucktoothed, uneducated, unwashed, blankflanked hick! And you have the gall to feel sorry for me?"

Misty Voice Scootaloo seemed to echo her sentiments, How can you feel bad for *her*?

'Cause we got something she'll never have, said Applebloom.

"Oh yeah?" scoffed Diamond in unison with Scootaloo.  "And what's that?"

Friends like you guys.

"Oh please," snorted the little heiress in disgust. "I have plenty of friends."

Ugh! She's such a pain, but better to be on her good side considering what she does to ponies who aren't.

Not much in the brains department, but pretty and rich are good perks. I just can't get past that personality of hers.

What personality?

...vile little monster!

Stuckup little nag!

If I keep smiling she won't hurt me! If I keep smiling she won't hurt me! If I keep smiling she won't hurt me! If I keep smiling she...

"Okay," she muttered dismally. "So not as many as I thought I did. But still Silver Spoon's waaaay better than any of you three losers!"

She's just so horrid!

Diamond Tiara's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in recognition. "Silver?"

I...I used to tell myself that she's not that bad. That maybe...maybe she's just...I don't know...misunderstood.

"Silver Spoon," Tiara quavered. "Wh-what are you saying?"

She always bosses me around, makes me do things I don't want to do, and never listens to what I have to say. And even when she seems to, she only hears what she wants to hear. At least it's not just me though, that's how she treats everypony. It's like she only keeps me around to make herself feel superior. I'm not her friend, I'm her accessory.

"No," whispered Tiara, tears beginning to well in her eyes. "Don't say that."

The voices of all the other ponies didn't affect her beyond minor annoyance. Even the voices of her teacher and father weren't all that hurtful after a few moments of processing. Deep down she always suspected how despised she was by everypony.  Applebloom's pity only served to anger her.  But Silver Spoon...

Silver Spoon was her friend...

I think the only reason I've stuck by her for so long, sighed Silver Spoon, is because I'm afraid of what she might do if I tried to leave.

"Silver Spoon wait!" cried Diamond Tiara. "I'm sorry! If you feel that way, I'll...I'll change. We'll do something you like next time like...like...okay, I, um, don't really know what you like to do. But that's okay! I'll learn along the way, just-just don't leave me okay Silver?"

Silence more palpable than the one preceding the whisper avalanche permeated the misty void.

"Silver," ventured Tiara. "Anypony?"

How long had she been alone in that silence? Hours? Weeks? Years? Centuries? She couldn't guess.  She didn't care to. The silence was deafening and the loneliness was  crushing.

"Please..." she begged the formless mists. She buried her face in her hooves and wept.  "Please, I don't want to be alone."

You're not alone little one, spoke a new voice she didn't recognize.  One that sounded like autumn leaves rustling against a headstone.

Tiara raised her eyes, red and puffy from crying and was confronted with a pair of glowing violet eyes surrounded by whirling blackness.

You'll never be alone again the Shadowfright whispered.

For a second time, darkness embraced Diamond Tiara, and this time, she welcomed it with open forelegs.