The Evil Behind It All

The Evil Behind It All

Written By Surprise The Pegasus

Chapter 1: Innocence Lost

The Evil gazed down upon the rural town of Ponyville, debating its first move. It had 5 afflictions to spread: War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death, as well as its personal favorite: Insanity. It flew down the earth, then began to study the population. It needed a vessel to blend in, a perfectly normal stallion or mare. It settled on a yellow Pegasus: she looked much too happy. Then it noticed the white Rabbit hopping along next to her. A Rabbit was the perfect cover: no being would see a Rabbit as the legendary Evil of Tartarus. It snaked through the tall grass bordering the dirt road, then shot up and forced itself down the Rabbits' throat. It studied the mare as it invaded the Rabbits' mind. She looked to be well fed and healthy. The Evil smirked devilishly. Famine was what this mare needed. One touch from The Evil, and she would be starving.

"Come along, Angel Bunny! It's time to go home." The Evil hopped up onto the mares' back, it's cold paws rubbing against her soft fur. Her plague had started. The Pegasus made her way through the streets of Ponyville, until she came to a small cottage in the outskirts of town. The Evil studied the cottage and the surrounding meadow. Silver fish swam in the creek, colorful birds chirped and sang as they flew, rabbits hopped in abundance in the grass, squirrels ate nuts in the trees, and mice scampered in the fields. The Evil cringed. This place could definitely use some Hell. Then, the door opened. The Evil could hardly believe what it was seeing. The cottage was crawling with happy animals. The Evil dug its new claws into the mares' back, making her bleed. This would make the Famine consume her faster.

"Ouch! That hurt, Angel!" The Evil hopped off her back, then displayed its bloody claws. She felt along her back, then looked at her hoof. It was tipped in red. "Why did you do that to me, Angel? Why..." The mare zoned out, captivated by the blood on her hoof. She shook her head, then trotted to the kitchen. The Evil licked off the blood: she was already feeling it. She opened the refrigerator, then rifled through the various vegetables. She picked out a large carrot, then took a bite. As she munched, a look of disgust formed on her face. She spat it out onto the floor. As she trotted out of the kitchen, a Squirrel tugged on her long pink mane.

"Did you hurt your arm, Mr. Squirrel?"  The Squirrel nodded in response. "Doctor Fluttershy's ready to help!  I have everything I need to bandage that arm right down in the basement. Follow me please!" Fluttershy led the injured Squirrel down a staircase, The Evil hopping along behind. Fluttershy pulled a first aid kit off a shelf, then pulled out the bandages. She hummed a sickeningly happy tune as she measured it out.

"Oh my, I skipped lunch. Or did I skip breakfast too? I'm terribly hungry all of a sudden...oh my word, I think I'm getting sick! Oh heavens, it hurts! Oh dear...oh dear!!" Fluttershy closed her eyes and held her stomach, taking in ragged breaths. "Oh dear...d-don't think like that...but Fluttershy, you can't! Oh dear, but I'm so very hungry..." Her pupils shrank, and she spread her wings, eying the Squirrel. "It's okay, it's just one little squirrel...nopony will ever know! Oh, and he probably tastes good, too!!" Fluttershy turned around to face the Squirrel. She crept close like a wolf moving in for the kill. She had a wild look in her eyes, her lower eyelid twitching. She moved closer until she was only inches away. Then she pounced. Blood splattered on the walls as the crunch of bone echoed throughout the cottage. The Evil smiled as blood was spattered across its face. It was one tiny step closer to bringing hell on earth. There was a knock on the door. Fluttershy finished off her Squirrel, then raced to the kitchen, picking up The Evil on the way. She scrubbed the blood off their faces, then ran to the door and opened it. Five other mares stood there.

"Hi, Fluttershy. We were just heading to Berry Punch's for some drinks. Care to join- um, why's there blood on your face? Did you hurt yourself?" Asked the purple one.

"Blood on my face?" Fluttershy looked at the hallway mirror. "No, no, that's not blood, it's...jam!! Yeah, jam! See, delicious strawberry jam!" Fluttershy hastily wiped a splash of blood off her face, then began to lick the hoof she wiped it with. "That's some good jam! Really good jam..." She closed her eyes as she continued to lick off the blood.

"...Ok then. Now c'mon, let's go!" The purple one motioned for Fluttershy to follow. The Evil began to hop after this "Fluttershy", but was stopped.

"You gotta stay here, Angel Bunny." Said Fluttershy. The Evil snarled. Fluttershy turned and began to walk out the door. The Evil jumped and clung onto her tail, right as the door was about to close. It slammed shut right behind it, pulling out one of the Rabbits' hairs. As it clung, it looked at the other five. The white one seemed very content, beautiful, and happy. She would recive War. The orange one was honest, loving, extremely competitive, and had very strong family ties. Pestilence was her affliction. The Pink one, optimistic and with boundless energy, had a sad and lonely childhood. Insanity. The blue one, brash, "awesome", and a bit cocky. She would be bound to her pink friend in Insanity. The purple one, a new Alicorn. These 5 ponies were her best friends, and she had very strong bonds with all of them, especially Princess Celestia. The Evil thought. Death.

They approached a thatched roof house. The purple one knocked on the door, and a dark pink pony with rosy eyes and bedmane answered the door, then ushered them inside. It was dimly lit, and the scuffling of small creatures could be heard in the shadows. The pungent scent of alcohol hung heavy in the slightly musty air. They all sat at a table, and the bedmane pony, which The Evil guessed was "Berry Punch" placed shot glasses and a bottle on the table.

...............

The purple one snickered as the blue and orange ponies engaged in a heated argument. Fluttershy got up, almost falling over. She shook her head and trotted off into the shadows, her peers taking no notice. Fluttershy's left ear twitched as she followed the sound of the scuffling creature. Fluttershy lunged forward, catching the creature in her hooves. It was a large gray rat. Fluttershy turned back to the ponies at the table, the rat writing in her grasp. She raised it to her mouth, then bit down on its head. Blood and brain dripped out of her mouth as she ripped the head off and began to chew it, bones crunching in between her teeth. She walked back up to the table and sat down, placing the decapitated rat on the table. The purple one stared at her as the others chanted numbers, the blue and orange ponies chugging beer. The purple one pulled out a camera, then took a picture of Fluttershy. Blood dripped off her chin and onto her chest, the rat corpse leaking blood onto the table, and herself. After the photo was taken, the purple one pulled out a piece of parchment, a quill, and a bottle of ink. She began to write, giggling as she did so. The blue and orange ponies finished their bottles, then glared at each other as the rest went wild. The Evil smiled at Fluttershy's kill: the fun was just about to begin.

..................

(Princess Celestia's perspective)

A scroll popped into the air in front of Princess Celestia. Her horn lit up with gold magic, and the scroll unfurled.

Dear Pruncess Celestia,

It's meh, Twilahgt Sparkles. I was junst out wuth mah gals, and Flutershaie totalay kiled a rat thang an ate it. It's totaly crasy, bit I'm not kiddin you'd. Lok at this pikture, iTs crasy, raight? Your fathfal studant, Twalaght Sparkles

The Princess read and reread the letter, then noticed a photo tacked to it, stained with red. It was of Fluttershy, covered in blood and a decapitated rat in her hoof. Celestia resisted the sudden urge to run to the bathroom and puke. She carefully studied the photo, then noticed a Rabbits' head peeking out from behind Fluttershy, a thin smile painted on its face. Celestia rerolled the scroll, then trotted hastily down to Luna's chambers. She needed to see this. Celestia knocked on the elegantly carved door. It opened, revealing Princess Luna, eyes almost closed and with a messy mane.

"Sister? I'm not to be awoken until supper, correct?" Luna yawned. Celestia held up the scroll.

"Yes, I know. You need to see this." Celestia walked into Luna's room. Luna closed the door, then turned on the crystal lamp on her bedside table. Celestia straightened out Luna's bed covers, then sat. Luna sat beside her and unfurled the scroll.

"Why would you want me to read this? This hoofwriting is not legible."

"I know, Luna. Look at this." Celestia handed her sister the photo.

"What? I can't even begin to imagine how this is real. How could Fluttershy-"

"Look at the Rabbit."

"What Rabbi- oh sweet mother, how is this possible?"

"I don't know, but we need to find out. This doesn't feel right."

"How? I've seen many things, sister, but nothing like this."