Dark.
She shivered, holding the candle a few inches closer to her. The light in her grip was small, and tender; it cast only a dim glow around her. Unfit for tonight’s conditions, especially given the weather. But it would have to suffice.
Cold.
She shivered again, wishing she had worn more protective clothing. The night was cold, and foreboding. Tonight’s passage would be a treacherous one, the pegasus knew. Flight was not an option, faulted to the thick clouds hovering over the even thicker treetops of the Everfree.
Eyes down, and forward.
She did as she told herself. Candle held gently aloft, gripped by her teeth, Fluttershy stepped forward. The rough dirt path felt gritty under her hooves. She kept her gaze angled low to the ground, eying the ground she walked over while still looking ahead.
The brown path turned green, and she felt the cushiony displacement of moss—no good. She stopped, turned to the left, and continued on the dirt path, avoiding the grass and moss.
Stick to the path.
A bird’s crowing echoed throughout the forest. Fluttershy stopped, listening. Nothing more. False alarm. She continued.
Always remain alert.
It was a night like any other. Rare flowers that only bloomed at midnight were the reason Fluttershy braved this trek. Luna chrysanthemum, they were called.Beautiful flowers. A gorgeous, navy-blue bulb, with fringes of white along the petals. The glow they emit when bloomed, in ideal conditions, can be seen for a mile.
But the flowers only grew in the deepest part of the forest, hidden in absolute darkness.
Fluttershy knew well of the risks for her to get to them. But she knew exactly where they were, and how to reach the spot where they grew. She had been making regular trips to gather both the pollen and the nectar from these flowers for years, now. The pollen, which supposedly carried hallucinogenic properties, was useful as an anesthetic, while the nectar saw employ as an antivenin—counteracting ill effects from snake bites and Manticore stings alike.
It was still dark. And still cold. The pegasus released a pent-up breath of air, watching it condense and fog in front of her. She tensed up as the light of the candle wavered and flitted, disturbed by this act. It soon settled, but she resisted the urge to sigh with relief.
No sudden movements. Slow, and steady.
The night was late, but not quite midnight just yet. She had wanted to come early this instance, so to witness the blooming of the flowersherself. Of course, Fluttershy had seen such a display before, but she was enraptured. She just had to see it again, if only because of the magical sight it wrought.
Minutes passed as the pegasus slowly navigated the forest path, checking to ensure she was not straying. She stopped herself; what was that peculiar smell? A pleasant, enticing aroma from afar… Perhaps she was nearing the cave where the Luna chrysanthemum bloomed. It was odd, though; the smell was not usually this strong, unless she was very close.
She mentally sighed. A part of her wondered if the flowers had already bloomed, and letting their scent waft from afar; if that was so, then her attempts at reaching the cave early were for naught. She did pick up her walking pace slightly, but was careful not to move too quickly.
Fluttershy knew she had reached the mouth of the cave when she felt the dirt path of the forest suddenly transition into rocky, uneven ground. She looked upwards; by the dim light of her candle, she made out the slate-gray ceiling of the cave. She began to feel a bit lightheaded, but managed to get her senses around it.
Watch your step. Careful not to trip.
Slowly, and with apprehension, Fluttershy stepped into the cave. Pacing herself. Watching the ground for any changes in footing, and looking ahead to check for any sudden obstacles. The cave was treacherous; she had stumbled many times before, and hurting herself. She was extremely careful to watch where she was going.
Ahead of her, the cave was blacker than tar. Deep within the already-dark forest, this appeared almost beyond common darkness. The fragrance also seemed to be getting stronger; this made no sense, though. Fluttershy knew that she should be seeing a light ahead of her in the cave if the flowers had already bloomed.
She didn’t trouble herself with details, though. They were still inside, waiting for her. The dark wasn’t any indicator of failure.
Or fear.
There still wasn’t a light ahead of her. By now, the cave made a slight rightwards turn, still descending slightly as it went. Somehow getting impossibly darker and thicker they further she traveled.
Scared of the dark, Fluttershy?
“No, I’m not,” she muttered sourly, still keeping a grip on the tiny candle she held.
Pretty dark down there. Might be something waiting at the bottom. You know. To gobble you up.
“That’s ridiculous,” she grumbled inaudibly. “This cave is empty.”
Keep telling yourself that.
Fluttershy shook her head, dismissing the intrusive thoughts that had wormed into her mind. The dark seemed almost like fog; thick, and seemingly impenetrable.
Look at that, guys. Fluttershy is scared of the dark!
Hah! What a wimp! Can you BELIEVE that we used to hang out with her?
“I’m not scared,” the pegasus whimpered defiantly, stepping forward into the unwelcoming abyss of the cave. She felt like she was stepping lower and lower into the heart of the Everfree; a place colder, darker, and more hostile than any place she had ever been before.
Her head ached, and she felt tired.
Pfft, Flutters is such a baby! She can’t fly, she can’t stand the dark, and she can’t even talkto ponies!
I’m glad we ditched her. She’s a horrible friend. Can’t even stand up for herself.
Or for her friends.
It’s sad, really.
“Th-that’s not true,” she whined, trudging forward with arduous steps. The darkness felt heavy around her; crushing her body, her spirit, and even her vision. All around her, she began to hear whispers. Echoing, laughing, and chanting a familiar tune.
“Fluttershy, Fluttershy, Fluttershy can hardly fly.”
“Scaredy cat, nervous rat, weak n’ meek like a doormat.”
“Fluttershy, Fluttershy, she can’t look you in the eye.”
“Wimpy mare, doesn’t share, about her you shouldn’t care.”
Fluttershy shook her head again, and clenched her eyes shut. “Stop it!” she said; louder now, tensing up. “Stop it right now! I’m not a baby! I’m not scared…! Y-you're just a bunch of bullies!”
Said the kettle.
This really is sad. She can’t even own up to her mistakes. She won’t admit how much she ruined us.
She shivered. “Stop it!”
Or how much damage she does when others are forced to help her?
That too. Weak, emotional, selfish… what else?
Oh, WHERE do I begin, Fluttershy?
“SHUT UP!”
The shout reverberated throughout the cave, the acoustics amplifying its volume as it echoed. The candle, freed from its once-careful grip, tumbled to the cold, stone floor.
And she was finally consumed in darkness.
“Oh… oh no…”
A soupy fog of shadow surrounded and enveloped Fluttershy. She closed her eyes—black. She opened them—still black. She felt trapped, and suffocated. She could not see, and she could not seem to feel anything.
She took a tentative step forward, and stumbled almost immediately. With a cry, she felt herself lose her footing. Fluttershy tumbled several meters down the cave’s descent, before finally coming to rest.
Poor, pitiful Fluttershy.
Her leg ached—she had knocked it against a rogue stalagmite on the way down. She managed to raise herself onto her hooves again, whimpering as she put weight on the injured limb. It didn’t feel like it was broken, but at the very least, it was sprained.
Need a bandage, Fluttercry?
She shook her head again—the whispers were getting louder! Where were they even coming from? Blackness still obscured her vision, and her sense of direction was all but lost. She didn’t know where to go, and she didn’t know which way would lead her to relative safety, or into a place that was far worse than she already was in.
Why fight the shadows? Just give in, already. No one is coming to save you.
They don’t even know you’re here.
Even if they did, they probably wouldn’t bother to help anyway.
“You’re wrong!” argued Fluttershy, thrashing her head around to try and see something—anything—to help her get her bearings.
Am I? How can you be so sure?
Fluttershy stumbled again, but managed to stop herself from falling. Slowly, she inched her way down the cave. “Because they’re my friends!”
Oh, let me guess. “Friends help each other”, right?
Out of the thick, impassable darkness, a light finally emerged. Soft, welcoming, and blue. Brighter, and brighter, it became.
There’s no hope for you. You’re too afraid.
“That’s a LIE!”
She shuffled closer to the light; the one that beckoned, and called out to her. The one that promised release, and freedom. Happiness and peace. Fluttershy inched closer to it, her head ringing with pain as the voices rose to a crescendo.
You’ll never amount to anything.
Fluttershy reached out towards the light – almost blazing now, from being so close – and saw the tender silhouette of a blue flower within as it bloomed.
You’ll never get over your fears.
The silhouette instantly changed, instead taking on quite a different appearance.
You don’t deserve to be my friend.
The shadow gained definition, revealing its true form to the mare before it. Fluttershy gaped at it. “No…”
Goodbye, Fluttershy.
With that, the one that she pined for turned and walked back towards the light. Both of them instantly seemed to rapidly retreat into the distance and vanish, leaving the pegasus at the mercy of the encroaching darkness.
“No! Don’t leave me! Please! I was so close…!”
Darkness was surrounding her now, with seemingly no end to its vast expanse. Fluttershy was alone, hopelessly alone, left abandoned in the shadows by her first true friend. She cried and cried, begging for the darkness and cold to go away, to leave her alone…
“Stop it, leave me alone! Please…!”
…
All at once, everything stopped. The pain, the chills, the voices—even the advancing darkness had ceased. Slowly, ever so slowly, she opened her eyes.
She was alone, in her bedroom.
It was… a dream? A nightmare?
Fluttershy lifted herself out of bed, and rubbed her eyes. She felt warm under the covers; safe, cozy. As if she had been here for a while. But, no; that couldn’t be right. Hadn’t she gone out to get the flowers…?
She looked over to the table beside her bed, and her eyes widened. A bundle of bright blue flowers lay there, abloom and glowing.
Luna chrysanthemums…
A long, drawn-out sigh escaped her lips. Every night, it was the same thing. The trip to the forest, the descent into the caves, the horrible voices that tormented her… Taunting her, and forcing her to relive her greatest fear. Waking up again, safe and sound in her bed. Not even remembering how she managed to make it there in the first place.
And she had been doing it to herself, every week.
Someday, she promised herself, I will be stronger. I won’t be a scaredy-cat. I won’t cry. I won’t give up. I will face my fears. If not for me, then for my friends.
As she climbed out of her bed and left the bedroom, Fluttershy spared a final glance toward the beautiful, glowing flowers. Flowers that only bloomed in the darkest of darkness.
The light at the end of her tunnel.
