Tabooby FromTheMoonChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 1Taboo By FromTheMoon Chapter 1: Disturbance Knocking. Yes definitely knocking come from the library's front door down stairs. Twilight tossed and turned in her bed as the loud pounding from below not only grew louder but quickened as well. Slowly she opened one of her eyes and stared out her bedroom window to see that it was still pitch black outside save for the light coming from Luna's moon. Turning over to the clock sitting firmly on her nightstand she levitated the small mechanical device over to her, noticing what time it was she slowly ran a hoof down the side of her face. One in the morning? Seriously? You'd think that ponies would have the common courtesy to wait until the the sun rises at least to visit the library. I'm all for encouraging reading but even I have my limits! Twilight put the clock back on the nightstand before pulling the covers up over her head. She closed her eyes and waited for sleep to take her once again. The knocking continued to get louder and more frequent with no sign of stopping. Probably just another pony wanting to take a look at the adult section downstairs without anyone in town knowing. They'll probably give up and go home soon enough. Placing a pillow over her head Twilight willed herself to return to a rather interesting dream she had been having. Some more time passed and the knocking continued showing no signs of letting up. "Hey Twi', you gonna go see who it is or what? Unlike you some of us are actually used to sleeping at night." "Just try to ignore it and go back to sleep Spike. I'm sure whoever it is will give up and be on their way." Spike mumbled something inaudible before burying his head deeper in his basket. The increased volume of the knocking caused the little dragon to poke his head out again. "Sure doesn't seem that way to me. Wouldn't it be easier to just go downstairs and tell them to come back in the morning?" Twilight really didn't want to leave the warmth of the her bed. She could of easily just told her number one assistant to do it for her. Realizing that wouldn't really be fair she grumbled and rubbed her groggy eyes before getting up from her cozy mattress. It's hard enough falling asleep with this wings but now I have to deal with this little disturbance. Why is the life of a Princess/Librarian never easy? Slowly making her way downstairs Twilight reached the front door of the library. Casting a purple glow on the door handle she unlocked it and poked her drowsy head outside. "Sir or madam, the library is closed at these hours so please come back again when we are open. If you'r here for the adult section then I'll tell you what I tell everypony else, try wearing a hood or a cloak or a..." "...Fluttershy?" Twilight instantly became fully awake when she noticed her canary colored friend standing in front of her. "What are you doing here at this hour of the...Fluttershy, are you okay?" Despite the darkness Twilight could see what she thought were tears streaming down the side of Fluttershy's face. "Twilight...it's...it's just...just..." The timid pegasus broke down sobbing on the door step. Without thinking Twilight quickly ushered her friend into the warmth of the library. She helped Fluttershy into the kitchen sitting her down in a chair. It was only when Twilight lit a candle that she realized to her horror that the pegasus was tracking blood. She noticed the red liquid dripping from both of Flutterhy's front hooves. "Fluttershy are you okay!? What happened!? How come you're..." "It's not from me." "What?" "The blood isn't from me." "Fluttershy please speak up! You're really starting to worry me here! What happened to you!?" Before Fluttershy could answer a familiar voice came from the door way. "Twilight who was the door? It sounded like you were talking to Fluttershy. Also what's this red stuff on the floor? It sorta looks like..." Spike's eyes went wide when he saw Twilight tending to her injured friend. "Twilight, what's going on?" The dragons voice was noticeably shacking. His gaze fell on the pair of bloody hooves. "Twilight..." "Spike go back upstairs now and come don't come back down until I tell you to!" "But..." "SPIKE! Go back upstairs now and don't come back down until I say it's alright! Don't worry, everything is going to be fine. Please, just go back upstairs for me, " Twilight said in an almost pleading voice. Doing as he was told Spike slowly backed out of the kitchen but not before taking one last look at Fluttershy. With Spike out of the room and out of thought for the time being Twilight turned her attention back towards her friend. Taking in a deep breath to calm herself she gathered up the strength to address the situation at hoof. "Now Fluttershy, please, how did this happen to you? Was it an accident? Did somepony hurt you? Was it one of your animal friends?" "...my animal friends? They're...I left him...I left him!" Without warning Fluttershy leapt from the chair she had been sitting on knocking Twilight over. The pegasus ran towards the front door of the library but before she could make it outside she found herself covered in a purplish glow lifted off the ground. Try as she might she could not break herself free from the magical grip of her friend. "Fluttershy where do you think you're going?" Twilight made her way over and closed the library door shut making sure to lock it. "You're hurt! You can't just go running around! We have to take you to the hospital you need medical attention!" "IT'S NOT MY BLOOD!" Fluttershy screamed at the top of her lungs practically startling Twilight. Fresh tears not affected by the magical grasp dotted the libraries floor. "Just please let me go Twilight...please...I have to get to him." Why's Fluttershy acting like this? Sure she can be extremely sensitive sometimes but...this...this is different. Also the blood. Twilight looked around her library floor which was covered in bloody hoofprints leading to the kitchen. If it's not from her then who's blood is it? She lowered her weeping friend to the ground and put her in a tight embrace to in an attempt to calm her down. "Fluttershy," Twilight said softly, "What happened?" Twilight felt more tears fall onto her coat. "I woke up and I heard...something...I don't know what it was but it came from outside. When I went outside I...I..." More sobbing. "It's okay Fluttershy, just take a deep breath. I'm here for you, you're safe now." Wiping away the tears from her eyes Fluttershy took a deep breath. "I sorry...I just can't explain it. Maybe it'll be easier if I just showed you." Show me? "Sure, just let me tell Spike what's going on and then we'll get going." Chapter 2Chapter 2: Under Stars and Candle Light Oh this was a terrible idea. I shouldn't of bothered Twilight but I needed to talk to somepony about...this. This is horrible, just horrible...oh why did this have to happen? Twilight and Fluttershy walked towards the latter's cottage making sure not to disturb the sleeping denizens of the town. Twilight had insisted on two things before allowing Fluttershy to leave the library. The first being that Fluttershy would go to the hospital before they did anything else. When she had refused Twilight had insisted that she at least wash the blood off her hooves and get herself cleaned up. The next thing that the Princess/Librarian had insisted on was that they keep this to themselves for the time being. Both had agreed that there was no need to panic the rest of their friends during the dead of night. Twilight's right, I just need to calm down. Twilight will know what to do, Twilight always knows what to do...right? Save for the light coming from the stars and crescent moon above the trek towards Fluttershy's cottage was made in almost completely pitch black darkness. The two friends stayed close to one another in an attempt to not lose track of the other. All around them the sound of night time filled the air. The serenade of crickets chirping, owls hooting, and gently breeze rustling through leafy trees would usually have been enough to calm a tense Fluttershy. Not tonight though, not after what she had seen. "Hey Fluttershy, just know you don't have to answer this if you don't feel comfortable but you mind telling me what happened? I mean if you're alright with it of course." Oh I want to tell you what's wrong Twilight, I really do. It's just that what I saw is just so... "I'm sorry Twilight, but maybe it'll just be better if you see it with your own eyes." "It's alright by me Fluttershy but can you at least tell me what I can expect? I've only been thinking of worst case scenarios ever since I saw you with blood on your hooves. Being a little less vague would really calm my mind." Silence found the two of them for enough time that Twilight had believed she had gotten separated from her friend. "Fluttershy are you still behind me?" "Yes." Fluttershy squeaked "So why aren't you saying anything?" "Because you told me to tell you something that would calm your mind and I don't really like lying to my friends." *** The two friends finally arrived at Fluttershy's cottage. To Twilight's surprise candle light glowed through windows around the house with the front door also being wide open. If Twilight had to make a guess she could only theorize that Fluttershy had left to go find her in a hurry. Fluttershy ran past Twilight and over the small bridge into her cottage. She bolted up the small flight of stairs to her bedroom. "Angel Bunny! Angel Bunny where are you!?" Please be okay, oh please be okay. Oh why did I leave him behind? I can be so stupid and selfish sometimes! Fearing the worst the peagsus felt fresh tears begin to cloud her vision. It was only after she felt a light thumping on her side that a small smile crept onto her face. With out thinking she quickly swept up her beloved pet in her hooves and began nuzzling him sweetly. "Oh Angel I'm so sorry for leaving you! I was just so scared and wasn't thinking straight! I promise I'll never leave you alone again! Especially not after..." "Hey Fluttershy! Are you upstairs? Is everything okay up there?" It really was a difficult question to answer. Things would probably never be one hundred percent 'okay' after that night. Looking at Angel Bunny and seeing that he was safe however gave the pegasus a momentary peace of mind. She realized that things could of been a lot worse. "Yes," she called down stairs, "Everything is fine up here, I'll come down in a minute." After giving her pet a quick look over to see if he was hurt Fluttershy went back downstairs with Angel in tow. She found Twilight in her living room looking at one of the lit candles. "Twilight I..." "Fluttershy don't take this the wrong way but could you just show me what's wrong? It's really late at night and I have to get up early to open the library." A tired yawn escaped the Princess putting more emphasis on the point she was trying to make. "So far all I've seen are numerous fire hazards with all the candles that you left lit." I guess there no putting it off any longer. I have to show her even if it's...it's... An audible timid squeak escaped her. Without saying anything else she quickly made her way outside motioning for Twilight to follow her. Putting a soft glow around her horn Twilight followed her friend outside. They made their behind the cottage and came to what looked like to Twilight as a holding pen. There was a small shack with a wire fence around it. Only when they got closer did Twilight notice the gaping hole in the fence. The wire had been cut in such a way that it seemed that something had slashed it's way through it. Fluttershy stopped at the opening in the fence unwilling to go further. "Through there Twilight, you'll see it in the shack." Twilight made her way through the gap in the fence taking caution not to scratch herself on the wire. Immediately she noticed a horrid smell coming from inside the little wooden structure. She covered her muzzle with a hoof as she made her way into the shack. Poking her head inside she increased the intensity of the glow on her horn and immediately regretted doing so. There basked in the light of her magic Twilight saw a scene that made her stomach retch. Scattered across the floor of the small shed was fur, blood, and what Twilight could only guess had once been somethings small intestine and internal organs. The walls were splattered with blood and covered in scratch marks. In the middle of the nightmarish scene lay the body, or at least, the remains of what was once some sort of animal. Feeling her stomach heave Twilight quickly retracted her head out of the shack and tilted it to one side as bile and her dinner purged out of her mouth and onto the wet grass. "His name was Mr. Ruffled Ears. He was a stray dog I found a few days ago in PonyVille. The poor thing was sick so I brought him here to nurture him back to health. I was woken up by horrible noises coming from his pen. When I looked inside I saw...that." "Fluttershy, I'm so sorry. No pony should have too see something as gruesome as...that. Do you know what type of wild animal could of done this? Do you think it was timber wolves?" Shaking her head slowly Fluttershy looked back towards the shed. "No, it wasn't a wild animal that did this. Not even a timber wolf. This...this was something else." "What makes you say that Fluttershy? How could this of been anything but a wild animal or a timber wolf? What else could of possibly done this?" Fluttershy took a deep breath and focused her gaze on Twilight. "When I found Mr. Ruffled Ears he was still alive." "The dog...I mean...Mr. Ruffled Ears was still alive?" Gently nodding her head Fluttershy continued, "The poor dear was still breathing. I thought of everything I could do to try and help him. I tried to stop his bleeding but the wound was too big. Suddenly out of nowhere his entire shack started shaking like something was banging against the sides. I could hear terrifying noises coming coming from outside. I panicked and ran out the shed not thinking of where I was running too. I ran from my home and it was only when I go into the town that I decided to run to you. I just...I just didn't know what to do." Just as Twilight was about to speak a loud howl came from behind the two. Both Fluttershy and Twilight turned to face the source of the noise. The pegasus's eyes went wide when she saw where the howling was coming from. There, standing in the light of the one of the windows, was a small black dog. It's eyes glowing a ghostly white as they reflected the moon's light. No...no it can't be. But Twilight saw you...I saw you...how is this possible? Mr. Ruffled Ears? Gathering up her courage Fluttershy lifted her hoof to take a step forward. As soon as she brought her hoof down onto the grass again a powerful gust of wind blew over the cottage causing both Fluttershy and Twilight to close their eyes. When they reopened them they saw that in the dogs place stood what appeared to be a pony. The pony looked strange since the two friends could only see it's silhouette against the candle light coming from the windows. They could see that the pony was a unicorn but couldn't make out it's face. The rest of the stranger's body was covered by what appeared to be a bear skin and several strange ornaments. Out of the corner of her eye Fluttershy could see that Twilight wasn't moving, seemingly petrified from fear. She swallowed down the wad of saliva that had built up in her mouth and passed her tongue over her lips which had gone dry from her mouth staying open. "Who..." "SkinWalker." Fluttershy heard Twilight whisper before the lights from the candles, stars, and even moon faded to black. Chapter 3Chapter 3: Myths and Legends It could of been a number of things that caused seemingly all sources of light to extinguish. It could of been a heavy gust of wind that blew out all the candles in the cottage. No, wind doesn't put out light from night time celestial bodies. It could of been a cloud passing by overhead momentarily blocking the light from the moon and stars. No that couldn't of been it either, how would the candles of gone out then? Perhaps a strong gust of wind and cloud passing by overhead at the same time? Yes, it was possible and the most logical explanation available. At least it would of been if the light emitting from Twilight's horn hadn't been extinguished as well. There was only one possible explanation and it only further fueled the Alicorn Princess's fears. All the light had been extinguished by magic. As quickly as the light had vanished it returned. Even Twilight's horn glowed softly again. Doing a quick check of her surroundings Twilight made sure that Fluttershy was still at her side. The pegasus was indeed still standing in place albeit with her eyes closed shut and body trembling. Okay, me and Fluttershy seem fine. She doesn't seem to be injured and I don't feel any pain so I can only assume that I am uninjured as well. Mentally breathing a sigh of relief Twilight moved to position herself in between Fluttershy and what she assumed was a SkinWalker. She turned to face the creature expecting some sort of confrontation but was surprised when she found it gone. "Where did it go? Maybe it went behind the house but I didn't hear it move. It couldn't of teleported since there wasn't any flash of magic. So where did it..." "Twilight...," a soft voice addressed her from behind, "Was that...was that Mr. Ruffled Ears?" Taking one last look around to see if they were safe Twilight turned to look at Fluttershy, the scene in front of her almost breaking her heart. Tears were streaming down her friends face as the rest of her body violently shook. "Was that Mr. Ruffled Ears?" "No Fluttershy, that wasn't Mr. Ruffled Ears at all. That was...that was something else entirely. It was something that until now I had believed to be only myth and legend. There's no denying it though. From what I saw in there," Twilight tilted her head towards Mr. Ruffled Ears's shack, "and from how that thing we saw was dressed there is only one thing it could of been. It was a SkinWalker." "A SkinWalker? What are those?" "Fluttershy a SkinWalker, according to myth, is a wicked creature that was once a powerful unicorn pony. Somewhere along the line the unicorn wanted to become more powerful so it committed one of the ultimate taboos, it killed an animal for the sole purpose of obtaining that animal's abilities." "It killed poor innocent animals?" Fluttershy's voice was practically trembling now. For the life of her she couldn't fathom why a pony would do such a horrible thing. "Afraid so. Once they kill their first animal they gain their victims natural abilities plus the magical ability to shape shift." "Shape shift, you mean like a changeling?" "Kinda but they can only shape shift into animals that they've killed. According to the legends the more animals they kill the more powerful they become. While they can only turn into animals it's said that powerful SkinWalkers can steal a pony's face." That was all Fluttershy had to hear. She doubted she would ever be able to fall asleep again. Not when such terrifying monsters were lurking just outside her once thought safe cottage. "Twilight...I'm really sc-sc-scared." You're not the only one Fluttershy. I'm scared too but one of us to stay calm and try to figure out what's the best course of action in a situation like this. Hmm not really a lot we can do right now while its still dark out. Definitely not safe to stay outside either. "Hey Fluttershy, Discord is in Canterlot right?" "Yes, he was summoned there by Princess Celestia and won't be back until next week. I've been here all alone with Angel and...and..." Without a moments hesitation Twilight quickly put her friend in a tight hug. "It's okay Fluttershy, you don't have to say his name if you don't want to." Using her wings tips Twilight wipped away the small tears that had formed in the corners of Fluttershy's eyes. Well at least these things are useful for something. "Wait but Fluttershy, what about your hens and all your other little animal friends?" "I lent my hens to Apple Jack last week and all my little animal friends are out right now preparing to hibernate for Winter. It's just been me an Angel Bunny." That took a load off of Twilight's mind. Right now all she could do was craft a plan of some sort, Fluttershy being alone with her rabbit made the task of keeping her safe easier. "Fluttershy I really don't think you should stay in your cottage, at least not tonight. How about you and Angel come stay with me and Spike at the library until we figure out what to do?" Fluttershy sniffled a little gingerly wiping her nose with a hoof. "Could me and Angel really stay with you Twilight?" "Of course! I'm really worried about you and Angel's safety. Just lock your cottage and head back into town with me. I'll send a letter to Princess Celestia first thing in the morning informing her of the situation. I'm sure she'll know what to do." It was only for an instant but Twilight saw a small smile appear on her friends face. "Thank you Twilight, you don't know how much this means for me and Angel. Wait right here and I'll go get him." After a brief hug Fluttershy made her way back into her cottage to fetch her beloved pet. Okay, so for now I have everything under control. Fluttershy and Angel are going to stay at the library with me and Spike so she'll be safe for the night. Just as extra precaution I better put up a barrier around the library until the sun rises. Is that over thinking things? Surely that SkinWalker won't follow us into town right? I mean according to legend their supposed to prefer... "TWILIGHT!" The young Princess heard her friend scream from inside her cottage. Oh no, what now? Darting back around the house and to the front of the cottage Twilight came face to face with a distraught Fluttershy. "What is it Fluttershy? Whats wrong!?" The pegasus was breathing in sporadic short breaths. "I...I.." "Fluttershy please, we don't have time for this! We have to get back into town where it's safe! So just grab Angel and..." "Twilight," Fluttershy interuptted sharply, "I...I can't find Angel!" Chapter 4Chapter 4: Protect No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no... The timid pegasus had retreated into her mind. With eyes closed she desperately willed herself to wake from the nightmare she found herself in. She refused to believe that this was reality,that her beloved Angel Bunny was gone. She wanted nothing more than to wake up and find Angel curled up next to her on the bed. "Fluttershy! Fluttershy please snap out of it!" Twilight had her hooves on her friend and was shaking her badly in an attempt to snap Fluttershy out of her daze. It was no use, the pony in front of her wouldn't move. Twilight might as well of been talking to a statue. "I know you're distraught beyond belief right now Fluttershy but we need to move! Its not safe here. I'm really sorry about Angel but we have to go! It's not safe here." There was no other way, it seemed that Twilight was going to have to use her magic to move Fluttershy. Putting a soft purple glow around her horn Twilight began to concentrate on levitating her friend. She never got the chance to. Without any forewarning Twilight found herself shoved away by the friend she so desperately wanted to protect. "Fluttershy!? Why did you do that?" "No." "No?" Twilight mimicked. "What do you mean 'No'? No what?" I left you before because I was scared Angel. I promised you that I wasn't going to leave you again...but I did. Now you're gone because of me. "I'm not leaving without Angel." "Fluttershy, I'm sorry, really I am, but Angel Bunny is gone! He got taken by that SkinWalker! We have to get to safety!" An attempt to put a comforting hoof on her friends's shoulder was slapped away. There was no going around it, the young Princess was going to have to be direct with her friend if anything was going to be accomplished. "Angel's gone Fluttershy, I'm sorry but it's true." "No he's not gone! He's out there somewhere scared and with that...that...thing! I have to find him! I have to bring him back!" "Fluttershy! Angel is..."Twilight found herself froze in place. She couldn't move any part of her body, not even managing to tilt her head in any direction. All she could do was stand in place and continue to receive the stare that she was being given from her friend. "Fluttershy..." "No, don't say it! Don't you dare say it! Angel's not...gone." Denial. Twilight really couldn't blame Fluttershy for refusing to come to terms with what had happened. The hard stare that she was being given eventually softened. "He's not gone. I know he isn't, I just know." Free to move once again, Twilight walked up and gently placed a comforting hoof in her friend's shoulder. "Fluttershy what makes you think that Angel isn't gone? We both know that SkinWalker took him and we saw what that thing does to animals." "Well there's no blood in my cottage. You saw how Mr. Ruffled Ear's was. The inside of his shack was covered in blood and fur. My cottage doesn't look anything like that so maybe Angel didn't get hurt?." Twilight looked around the inside of Fluttershy's home and saw that this was true. Unlike the poor dogs shack the inside of the cottage was completely blood free. There seemed to be no signs of any struggle whatsoever. "Okay so there's no blood but that doesn't mean that Angel isn't...gone..." "Dead." Twilight found herself taken back by how bluntly her usually timid friend had said that. "No blood means that he isn't dead. That thing probably just took Angel to do who knows what! We can still find Angel and save him." "Look Fluttershy, I see what you mean with there being no blood but that doesn't mean that Angel isn't...dead. Angel was..." "Is!" Fluttershy corrected her. "...Is smaller than Mr. Ruffled Ears. Chances are there wouldn't of been a struggle to over power a rabbit. I want to believe that he's okay too, I really do, but right now there isn't any conclusive evidence that shows that he is." Holding out a hoof Twilight began motioning for Fluttershy to follow her. "Come on, lets get back to town and then we'll figure out what to do about Angel." Fluttershy shook her head gravely. "I'm not leaving without Angel." With that being said Fluttershy let her gaze fall and pawed at the floor of her cottage for a little. She took a deep breath before speaking again. "I'm going to go into the Everfree forest to look for Angel. I'm going to bring him back." "WHAT!?" It was absolutely ludicrous. The fact that any pony would willingly go into the EverFree forest at night was crazy enough as it was. Chasing a deadly creature warranted a mental evaluation as well. What really pushed Twilight over the edge was the pegasus willing to go through with it. "Fluttershy you can't be serious. Going into that forest right now is suicide! If that SkinWalker doesn't get you then something else surely will! Let's just head back to the library and then we can look for Angel in the morning with our friends to help us. How does that sound?" "It might be too late by then Twilight. I'm going into the forest to look for my Angel Bunny and there's nothing you can say to change my mind." It seemed there was no other option. "Fluttershy, understand that I will do whatever it takes to keep you out of that forest." Twilight's horn began to glow a brilliant shade of purple. She figured that a show of force would be enough of a deterrent and maybe even get her friend to start thinking rationally. Fluttershy stood in place for a moment wide eyed at how far Twilight was willing to go to keep her from going into the forest. I'm sorry Twilight but my mind is made up. Not you, that monster, or anything else is going to keep me from rescuing Angel. Without any hesitation that pegasus began moving towards her friend undeterred by the intensity of light coming from her horn that only glowed brighter as Fluttershy got closer. Walking past the alicorn princess Fluttershy met no resistance, only a sigh that escaped her friend. "I know that you just want to protect me Twilight but right now all I want to do protect Angel. I'm going to find him and bring him back." "We." "Huh?" "We are going to find him and bring him back." The light emanating from Twilight's horn reduced until it was just a soft glow again. "You're right, I do want to protect you and it seems that the only way I'm going to do that is by going with you into the EverFree forest." Practically bursting into tears Fluttershy quickly rushed over and embraced Twilight in a hug that would of put Pinkie Pie to shame. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you Twilight!" "Don't mention it. Seriously though, don't mention it. You might cause me to change my mind about this whole thing. So come on, lets go save you're Angel Bunny." Chapter 5Chapter 5: Search Lunatic! Imbecile! Demented! Twilight really couldn't blame her mind for yelling at her. It had every right to be upset with the young princess as she had willingly agreed to be part of this search and rescue. In all honesty she would of wanted nothing more than to just grab the pegasus with her magic and carry her back to the safety of the town. If her friend proved too uncooperative then teleportaion was always another option. Just a few moments ago she had flaunted her magic in an effort to deter Fluttershy from chasing after her beloved pet rabbit. With all the magic she had built up she could of easily relocated the two to Canterlot's gardens in the blink of an eye, but she hadn't. Was that all that was? Just a show of force? Would I really have gone through with it and forced Fluttershy away from Angel? She cast a quick glance at the pegasus in question. Fluttershy's eyes were red and swollen, dried water trails covered her face, and her usually tidy flowing mane was ragged and splinter at the tips. Above all else she had a certain look in her eyes, they gleamed and shone of hope and fear. The answer was all too clear. A sigh escaped the Princess, the cool night air allowing her to see her breath. "Fluttershy, I know I said I would go with you to look for Angel but I just need to know one thing. I just have one question I want to ask and I need you to answer me truthfully." "I promise that I'll answer you truthfully Twilight." "Fluttershy, are you one hundred percent certain that Angel is still alive? I need to know that if we go searching for him that we'll save him. I won't risk mine or yours safety for a fools errand. Look me in the eye and tell me that you're absolutely sure that he's out there." Fluttershy's mouth moved silently as if she was finding a way to word what was on her mind. Her eyes darted back and forth searching for nothing in particular, hoping to spot something that would assure her of Angel. She found none and she needed none. Angel was alive and she knew it, her beloved rabbit was out there somewhere waiting to be cradled lovingly again in her hooves. "Angel Bunny is alive Twilight. Don't ask me how I know because not even I'm sure how I can be so confident about this, but I am. He's out there Twilight, and we're going to rescue him." It wasn't much to go on but at least it was something. Was it enough? For any other pony with at least an inch of sanity probably not. For Twilight however it was all she needed to go ahead with this insane rescue. "Right then, that just leaves the question of how we are going to find Angel." An obvious question that left Fluttershy embarrassed, to say the least, that she hadn't thought of it herself. Her mind raced with possibilities of how the two of them were going to find Angel. Through her years of working with animals she had become an adequate tracker, being able to distinguish animals apart from the prints and remains they left behind. Most of her tracking had been done during daylight however and to make things worse she didn't know where to begin to look. "Well if I had a good source of light I could probably track Angel. Could you maybe light up your horn and give me some light to do it? Oh but first I would have to find his tracks and that might take a while. Oh where would I even begin to look? Maybe I should..." I highly doubt your rabbit just walked out of this cottage Fluttershy. Besides, I don't think he's the one we should be tracking if we want to find him. "I don't think he walked out of the cottage by himself Fluttershy. Most likely he was taken by force by that SkinWalker and probably carried out. If we'll have any chance of rescuing Angel then we need to find that SkinWalker. I really don't see any any other way of doing this." "So we have to look for that monster?" Twilight slowly nodded her ahead. "But how are we going to find it?" "That's what I've been pondering over as well, and I think that I may actually have a solution." This really is the only way we're going to find that thing. "From what I saw in Mr. Ruffled Ears's shack there was a lot of blood, correct?" Fluttershy simply replied with an uneasy nod. "Most likely that SkinWalker is tracking blood then from when it attacked Mr. Ruffled Ears. All we have to do is follow the blood trail that it's leaving behind and it should eventually lead us to it and Angel, hopefully." Twilight's plan seemed to make sense except for one flaw that Fluttershy couldn't help but overlook. "Um, Twilight, when I looked around my cottage just now I didn't see any...blood. How are we going to track it without a trail?" Any other day any this would actually make great lecture topic. "The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence Fluttershy." "Um, what?" "Exactly, just because you can't see the blood doesn't mean that it isn't there. Allow me to demonstrate with this new spell I've been working on." Twilight closed her eyes and her horn began to give off it's usual lavender glow. Furrowing her eyebrows a little, the light from her horn slowly began to change color. A pale bluish color was cast around the two friends in small radius. Perhaps it was due to the darkness of night but Fluttershy had never seen a light like that before. "Twilight, what is that light?" "Neat huh? It's called the Black Light spell." "But the light isn't black, its bluish actually." "I know, there isn't such a thing as black light. It's just the name given to the spell because of what the light does. Here let me show you." Twilight made her way inside Fluttershy's cottage and began blowing out all the reaming candles. As soon as the cottage was completely dark a new light began to shine from the floor. Fluttershy's eyes widened as she noticed spots of pale orange glow around the inside of her home. "Why is the floor glowing orange in those places?" "The black light is showing us the traces of blood that we wouldn't usually be able to see with our eyes. Those spots are orange are the traces of blood. Look, you can even see speckles of orange on your hooves." A quick glance and Fluttershy noticed that this was true. Where the blue light touched her hooves there were small spots of orange. "With this spell we should be able to track the SkinWalker and find Angel." Walking out and closing the door behind her Twilight made her way down the path following the small spots of orange glow. Fluttershy quickly fell in line behind her friend as she was lead around her cottage and the grounds surrounding it. The two walked around the cottage for a little while following the trail which at one point lead them away from the small home and to the entrance of the EverFree Forest. Just as I feared. That SkinWalker did head into the EverFree Forest. No turning back now I guess. "Come on Fluttershy, the trail leads into the forest." Twilight half expected to hear a protest from her timid friend. When there was none she carried on and lead the way down the path and into the forest. *** The two friends had walked on the path for about thirty minutes before the glowing trail lead them off of it. Most of the walk had been in silence with neither wanting to say anything for fear of startling the other. Finally it was Fluttershy who broke the silence with a question that had been bugging her for the last couple of minutes. "Twilight, what are we going to do when we find the SkinWalker?" "What do you mean Fluttershy?" "Are we going to have to fight Twilight? I'm not really much of a fighter and I don't really like violence all too much either." "It saddens me to say this Fluttershy but I really don't see any outcome where we don't have to have to fight the SkinWalker. According to the legends they're supposed to be prone to violence when confronted. Their physical strength is greater than the average pony and they have a high level of magic. When we do confront this SkinWalker it won't be an easy fight." Twilight turned back to look at Fluttershy who was doing her best to hide the look of concern on her face. "I need you to understand one thing though Fluttershy. If it looks like we are in danger and I can't protect us from the SkinWalker then I won't hesitate to teleport us out of the forest. Is that clear?" "Yes Twilight." Fluttershy said in almost a whisper. "Good. Now lets stop here for a minute. I need to make some preparations for hopfully, I can't believe I'm actually hoping for this, our confrontation with the SkinWalker. Do me a favor and tear of branch from a tree will you?" Doing as she was told the pegasus quickly flew up, grabbed hold of a decent sized skinny tree branch, snapped it off, and flew back down to Twilight. "All right, now place the branch in front of me please and then take a few steps back." Once the branch was in front of her and Fluttershy was a safe distance away, Twilight began to concentrate. "Fluttershy I'm going to cease the Black Light spell and cast a new one. During that time we'll have no light until the new spell is cast and it will be pitch black for a moment. Don't panic alright?" With that being said the pale blue light faded and the darkness of the forest over took them for a instant. In the next moment a magnificent flame erupted around the tree branch that laid in front of Twilight. The flame glowed in a prism of colors before finally resting on a white radiance. The white flame only lasted a few moments before it extinguished itself and once again the two friends fond themselves surrounded by darkness. "Twilight, what did you just do?" Fluttershy asked curiously. "I created white ash. From what I've read about SkinWalkers their one major drawback is that they're susceptible to white ash for whatever reason. Should give us an edge." As happy as Fluttershy was for having a way to defend themselves she was still a little put off by the darkness. "Twilight could you please make you're horn glow again? It's really dark in the EverFree Forest, more than I actually remembered." "Sure, just let me cast the Black Light Spell again, then we'll just take the white ash and continue tracking this SkinWalker." Closing her eyes Twilight began to once again focus on the needed spell. Moments passed with no light being the result. What the? Huh, that white ash spell must of taken more out me than I originally thought. Let me warm up with a simple illumination spell. Twilight once again closed her eyes and focused on the easier spell, still no light came from her. The young Princess became distraught when she realized that her horn wasn't even glowing with her aura. Panic began to seep into her mind as she turned towards her friend. "Fluttershy, I can't use my magic."
Chapter 1Taboo By FromTheMoon Chapter 1: Disturbance Knocking. Yes definitely knocking come from the library's front door down stairs. Twilight tossed and turned in her bed as the loud pounding from below not only grew louder but quickened as well. Slowly she opened one of her eyes and stared out her bedroom window to see that it was still pitch black outside save for the light coming from Luna's moon. Turning over to the clock sitting firmly on her nightstand she levitated the small mechanical device over to her, noticing what time it was she slowly ran a hoof down the side of her face. One in the morning? Seriously? You'd think that ponies would have the common courtesy to wait until the the sun rises at least to visit the library. I'm all for encouraging reading but even I have my limits! Twilight put the clock back on the nightstand before pulling the covers up over her head. She closed her eyes and waited for sleep to take her once again. The knocking continued to get louder and more frequent with no sign of stopping. Probably just another pony wanting to take a look at the adult section downstairs without anyone in town knowing. They'll probably give up and go home soon enough. Placing a pillow over her head Twilight willed herself to return to a rather interesting dream she had been having. Some more time passed and the knocking continued showing no signs of letting up. "Hey Twi', you gonna go see who it is or what? Unlike you some of us are actually used to sleeping at night." "Just try to ignore it and go back to sleep Spike. I'm sure whoever it is will give up and be on their way." Spike mumbled something inaudible before burying his head deeper in his basket. The increased volume of the knocking caused the little dragon to poke his head out again. "Sure doesn't seem that way to me. Wouldn't it be easier to just go downstairs and tell them to come back in the morning?" Twilight really didn't want to leave the warmth of the her bed. She could of easily just told her number one assistant to do it for her. Realizing that wouldn't really be fair she grumbled and rubbed her groggy eyes before getting up from her cozy mattress. It's hard enough falling asleep with this wings but now I have to deal with this little disturbance. Why is the life of a Princess/Librarian never easy? Slowly making her way downstairs Twilight reached the front door of the library. Casting a purple glow on the door handle she unlocked it and poked her drowsy head outside. "Sir or madam, the library is closed at these hours so please come back again when we are open. If you'r here for the adult section then I'll tell you what I tell everypony else, try wearing a hood or a cloak or a..." "...Fluttershy?" Twilight instantly became fully awake when she noticed her canary colored friend standing in front of her. "What are you doing here at this hour of the...Fluttershy, are you okay?" Despite the darkness Twilight could see what she thought were tears streaming down the side of Fluttershy's face. "Twilight...it's...it's just...just..." The timid pegasus broke down sobbing on the door step. Without thinking Twilight quickly ushered her friend into the warmth of the library. She helped Fluttershy into the kitchen sitting her down in a chair. It was only when Twilight lit a candle that she realized to her horror that the pegasus was tracking blood. She noticed the red liquid dripping from both of Flutterhy's front hooves. "Fluttershy are you okay!? What happened!? How come you're..." "It's not from me." "What?" "The blood isn't from me." "Fluttershy please speak up! You're really starting to worry me here! What happened to you!?" Before Fluttershy could answer a familiar voice came from the door way. "Twilight who was the door? It sounded like you were talking to Fluttershy. Also what's this red stuff on the floor? It sorta looks like..." Spike's eyes went wide when he saw Twilight tending to her injured friend. "Twilight, what's going on?" The dragons voice was noticeably shacking. His gaze fell on the pair of bloody hooves. "Twilight..." "Spike go back upstairs now and come don't come back down until I tell you to!" "But..." "SPIKE! Go back upstairs now and don't come back down until I say it's alright! Don't worry, everything is going to be fine. Please, just go back upstairs for me, " Twilight said in an almost pleading voice. Doing as he was told Spike slowly backed out of the kitchen but not before taking one last look at Fluttershy. With Spike out of the room and out of thought for the time being Twilight turned her attention back towards her friend. Taking in a deep breath to calm herself she gathered up the strength to address the situation at hoof. "Now Fluttershy, please, how did this happen to you? Was it an accident? Did somepony hurt you? Was it one of your animal friends?" "...my animal friends? They're...I left him...I left him!" Without warning Fluttershy leapt from the chair she had been sitting on knocking Twilight over. The pegasus ran towards the front door of the library but before she could make it outside she found herself covered in a purplish glow lifted off the ground. Try as she might she could not break herself free from the magical grip of her friend. "Fluttershy where do you think you're going?" Twilight made her way over and closed the library door shut making sure to lock it. "You're hurt! You can't just go running around! We have to take you to the hospital you need medical attention!" "IT'S NOT MY BLOOD!" Fluttershy screamed at the top of her lungs practically startling Twilight. Fresh tears not affected by the magical grasp dotted the libraries floor. "Just please let me go Twilight...please...I have to get to him." Why's Fluttershy acting like this? Sure she can be extremely sensitive sometimes but...this...this is different. Also the blood. Twilight looked around her library floor which was covered in bloody hoofprints leading to the kitchen. If it's not from her then who's blood is it? She lowered her weeping friend to the ground and put her in a tight embrace to in an attempt to calm her down. "Fluttershy," Twilight said softly, "What happened?" Twilight felt more tears fall onto her coat. "I woke up and I heard...something...I don't know what it was but it came from outside. When I went outside I...I..." More sobbing. "It's okay Fluttershy, just take a deep breath. I'm here for you, you're safe now." Wiping away the tears from her eyes Fluttershy took a deep breath. "I sorry...I just can't explain it. Maybe it'll be easier if I just showed you." Show me? "Sure, just let me tell Spike what's going on and then we'll get going."
Chapter 2Chapter 2: Under Stars and Candle Light Oh this was a terrible idea. I shouldn't of bothered Twilight but I needed to talk to somepony about...this. This is horrible, just horrible...oh why did this have to happen? Twilight and Fluttershy walked towards the latter's cottage making sure not to disturb the sleeping denizens of the town. Twilight had insisted on two things before allowing Fluttershy to leave the library. The first being that Fluttershy would go to the hospital before they did anything else. When she had refused Twilight had insisted that she at least wash the blood off her hooves and get herself cleaned up. The next thing that the Princess/Librarian had insisted on was that they keep this to themselves for the time being. Both had agreed that there was no need to panic the rest of their friends during the dead of night. Twilight's right, I just need to calm down. Twilight will know what to do, Twilight always knows what to do...right? Save for the light coming from the stars and crescent moon above the trek towards Fluttershy's cottage was made in almost completely pitch black darkness. The two friends stayed close to one another in an attempt to not lose track of the other. All around them the sound of night time filled the air. The serenade of crickets chirping, owls hooting, and gently breeze rustling through leafy trees would usually have been enough to calm a tense Fluttershy. Not tonight though, not after what she had seen. "Hey Fluttershy, just know you don't have to answer this if you don't feel comfortable but you mind telling me what happened? I mean if you're alright with it of course." Oh I want to tell you what's wrong Twilight, I really do. It's just that what I saw is just so... "I'm sorry Twilight, but maybe it'll just be better if you see it with your own eyes." "It's alright by me Fluttershy but can you at least tell me what I can expect? I've only been thinking of worst case scenarios ever since I saw you with blood on your hooves. Being a little less vague would really calm my mind." Silence found the two of them for enough time that Twilight had believed she had gotten separated from her friend. "Fluttershy are you still behind me?" "Yes." Fluttershy squeaked "So why aren't you saying anything?" "Because you told me to tell you something that would calm your mind and I don't really like lying to my friends." *** The two friends finally arrived at Fluttershy's cottage. To Twilight's surprise candle light glowed through windows around the house with the front door also being wide open. If Twilight had to make a guess she could only theorize that Fluttershy had left to go find her in a hurry. Fluttershy ran past Twilight and over the small bridge into her cottage. She bolted up the small flight of stairs to her bedroom. "Angel Bunny! Angel Bunny where are you!?" Please be okay, oh please be okay. Oh why did I leave him behind? I can be so stupid and selfish sometimes! Fearing the worst the peagsus felt fresh tears begin to cloud her vision. It was only after she felt a light thumping on her side that a small smile crept onto her face. With out thinking she quickly swept up her beloved pet in her hooves and began nuzzling him sweetly. "Oh Angel I'm so sorry for leaving you! I was just so scared and wasn't thinking straight! I promise I'll never leave you alone again! Especially not after..." "Hey Fluttershy! Are you upstairs? Is everything okay up there?" It really was a difficult question to answer. Things would probably never be one hundred percent 'okay' after that night. Looking at Angel Bunny and seeing that he was safe however gave the pegasus a momentary peace of mind. She realized that things could of been a lot worse. "Yes," she called down stairs, "Everything is fine up here, I'll come down in a minute." After giving her pet a quick look over to see if he was hurt Fluttershy went back downstairs with Angel in tow. She found Twilight in her living room looking at one of the lit candles. "Twilight I..." "Fluttershy don't take this the wrong way but could you just show me what's wrong? It's really late at night and I have to get up early to open the library." A tired yawn escaped the Princess putting more emphasis on the point she was trying to make. "So far all I've seen are numerous fire hazards with all the candles that you left lit." I guess there no putting it off any longer. I have to show her even if it's...it's... An audible timid squeak escaped her. Without saying anything else she quickly made her way outside motioning for Twilight to follow her. Putting a soft glow around her horn Twilight followed her friend outside. They made their behind the cottage and came to what looked like to Twilight as a holding pen. There was a small shack with a wire fence around it. Only when they got closer did Twilight notice the gaping hole in the fence. The wire had been cut in such a way that it seemed that something had slashed it's way through it. Fluttershy stopped at the opening in the fence unwilling to go further. "Through there Twilight, you'll see it in the shack." Twilight made her way through the gap in the fence taking caution not to scratch herself on the wire. Immediately she noticed a horrid smell coming from inside the little wooden structure. She covered her muzzle with a hoof as she made her way into the shack. Poking her head inside she increased the intensity of the glow on her horn and immediately regretted doing so. There basked in the light of her magic Twilight saw a scene that made her stomach retch. Scattered across the floor of the small shed was fur, blood, and what Twilight could only guess had once been somethings small intestine and internal organs. The walls were splattered with blood and covered in scratch marks. In the middle of the nightmarish scene lay the body, or at least, the remains of what was once some sort of animal. Feeling her stomach heave Twilight quickly retracted her head out of the shack and tilted it to one side as bile and her dinner purged out of her mouth and onto the wet grass. "His name was Mr. Ruffled Ears. He was a stray dog I found a few days ago in PonyVille. The poor thing was sick so I brought him here to nurture him back to health. I was woken up by horrible noises coming from his pen. When I looked inside I saw...that." "Fluttershy, I'm so sorry. No pony should have too see something as gruesome as...that. Do you know what type of wild animal could of done this? Do you think it was timber wolves?" Shaking her head slowly Fluttershy looked back towards the shed. "No, it wasn't a wild animal that did this. Not even a timber wolf. This...this was something else." "What makes you say that Fluttershy? How could this of been anything but a wild animal or a timber wolf? What else could of possibly done this?" Fluttershy took a deep breath and focused her gaze on Twilight. "When I found Mr. Ruffled Ears he was still alive." "The dog...I mean...Mr. Ruffled Ears was still alive?" Gently nodding her head Fluttershy continued, "The poor dear was still breathing. I thought of everything I could do to try and help him. I tried to stop his bleeding but the wound was too big. Suddenly out of nowhere his entire shack started shaking like something was banging against the sides. I could hear terrifying noises coming coming from outside. I panicked and ran out the shed not thinking of where I was running too. I ran from my home and it was only when I go into the town that I decided to run to you. I just...I just didn't know what to do." Just as Twilight was about to speak a loud howl came from behind the two. Both Fluttershy and Twilight turned to face the source of the noise. The pegasus's eyes went wide when she saw where the howling was coming from. There, standing in the light of the one of the windows, was a small black dog. It's eyes glowing a ghostly white as they reflected the moon's light. No...no it can't be. But Twilight saw you...I saw you...how is this possible? Mr. Ruffled Ears? Gathering up her courage Fluttershy lifted her hoof to take a step forward. As soon as she brought her hoof down onto the grass again a powerful gust of wind blew over the cottage causing both Fluttershy and Twilight to close their eyes. When they reopened them they saw that in the dogs place stood what appeared to be a pony. The pony looked strange since the two friends could only see it's silhouette against the candle light coming from the windows. They could see that the pony was a unicorn but couldn't make out it's face. The rest of the stranger's body was covered by what appeared to be a bear skin and several strange ornaments. Out of the corner of her eye Fluttershy could see that Twilight wasn't moving, seemingly petrified from fear. She swallowed down the wad of saliva that had built up in her mouth and passed her tongue over her lips which had gone dry from her mouth staying open. "Who..." "SkinWalker." Fluttershy heard Twilight whisper before the lights from the candles, stars, and even moon faded to black.
Chapter 3Chapter 3: Myths and Legends It could of been a number of things that caused seemingly all sources of light to extinguish. It could of been a heavy gust of wind that blew out all the candles in the cottage. No, wind doesn't put out light from night time celestial bodies. It could of been a cloud passing by overhead momentarily blocking the light from the moon and stars. No that couldn't of been it either, how would the candles of gone out then? Perhaps a strong gust of wind and cloud passing by overhead at the same time? Yes, it was possible and the most logical explanation available. At least it would of been if the light emitting from Twilight's horn hadn't been extinguished as well. There was only one possible explanation and it only further fueled the Alicorn Princess's fears. All the light had been extinguished by magic. As quickly as the light had vanished it returned. Even Twilight's horn glowed softly again. Doing a quick check of her surroundings Twilight made sure that Fluttershy was still at her side. The pegasus was indeed still standing in place albeit with her eyes closed shut and body trembling. Okay, me and Fluttershy seem fine. She doesn't seem to be injured and I don't feel any pain so I can only assume that I am uninjured as well. Mentally breathing a sigh of relief Twilight moved to position herself in between Fluttershy and what she assumed was a SkinWalker. She turned to face the creature expecting some sort of confrontation but was surprised when she found it gone. "Where did it go? Maybe it went behind the house but I didn't hear it move. It couldn't of teleported since there wasn't any flash of magic. So where did it..." "Twilight...," a soft voice addressed her from behind, "Was that...was that Mr. Ruffled Ears?" Taking one last look around to see if they were safe Twilight turned to look at Fluttershy, the scene in front of her almost breaking her heart. Tears were streaming down her friends face as the rest of her body violently shook. "Was that Mr. Ruffled Ears?" "No Fluttershy, that wasn't Mr. Ruffled Ears at all. That was...that was something else entirely. It was something that until now I had believed to be only myth and legend. There's no denying it though. From what I saw in there," Twilight tilted her head towards Mr. Ruffled Ears's shack, "and from how that thing we saw was dressed there is only one thing it could of been. It was a SkinWalker." "A SkinWalker? What are those?" "Fluttershy a SkinWalker, according to myth, is a wicked creature that was once a powerful unicorn pony. Somewhere along the line the unicorn wanted to become more powerful so it committed one of the ultimate taboos, it killed an animal for the sole purpose of obtaining that animal's abilities." "It killed poor innocent animals?" Fluttershy's voice was practically trembling now. For the life of her she couldn't fathom why a pony would do such a horrible thing. "Afraid so. Once they kill their first animal they gain their victims natural abilities plus the magical ability to shape shift." "Shape shift, you mean like a changeling?" "Kinda but they can only shape shift into animals that they've killed. According to the legends the more animals they kill the more powerful they become. While they can only turn into animals it's said that powerful SkinWalkers can steal a pony's face." That was all Fluttershy had to hear. She doubted she would ever be able to fall asleep again. Not when such terrifying monsters were lurking just outside her once thought safe cottage. "Twilight...I'm really sc-sc-scared." You're not the only one Fluttershy. I'm scared too but one of us to stay calm and try to figure out what's the best course of action in a situation like this. Hmm not really a lot we can do right now while its still dark out. Definitely not safe to stay outside either. "Hey Fluttershy, Discord is in Canterlot right?" "Yes, he was summoned there by Princess Celestia and won't be back until next week. I've been here all alone with Angel and...and..." Without a moments hesitation Twilight quickly put her friend in a tight hug. "It's okay Fluttershy, you don't have to say his name if you don't want to." Using her wings tips Twilight wipped away the small tears that had formed in the corners of Fluttershy's eyes. Well at least these things are useful for something. "Wait but Fluttershy, what about your hens and all your other little animal friends?" "I lent my hens to Apple Jack last week and all my little animal friends are out right now preparing to hibernate for Winter. It's just been me an Angel Bunny." That took a load off of Twilight's mind. Right now all she could do was craft a plan of some sort, Fluttershy being alone with her rabbit made the task of keeping her safe easier. "Fluttershy I really don't think you should stay in your cottage, at least not tonight. How about you and Angel come stay with me and Spike at the library until we figure out what to do?" Fluttershy sniffled a little gingerly wiping her nose with a hoof. "Could me and Angel really stay with you Twilight?" "Of course! I'm really worried about you and Angel's safety. Just lock your cottage and head back into town with me. I'll send a letter to Princess Celestia first thing in the morning informing her of the situation. I'm sure she'll know what to do." It was only for an instant but Twilight saw a small smile appear on her friends face. "Thank you Twilight, you don't know how much this means for me and Angel. Wait right here and I'll go get him." After a brief hug Fluttershy made her way back into her cottage to fetch her beloved pet. Okay, so for now I have everything under control. Fluttershy and Angel are going to stay at the library with me and Spike so she'll be safe for the night. Just as extra precaution I better put up a barrier around the library until the sun rises. Is that over thinking things? Surely that SkinWalker won't follow us into town right? I mean according to legend their supposed to prefer... "TWILIGHT!" The young Princess heard her friend scream from inside her cottage. Oh no, what now? Darting back around the house and to the front of the cottage Twilight came face to face with a distraught Fluttershy. "What is it Fluttershy? Whats wrong!?" The pegasus was breathing in sporadic short breaths. "I...I.." "Fluttershy please, we don't have time for this! We have to get back into town where it's safe! So just grab Angel and..." "Twilight," Fluttershy interuptted sharply, "I...I can't find Angel!"
Chapter 4Chapter 4: Protect No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no... The timid pegasus had retreated into her mind. With eyes closed she desperately willed herself to wake from the nightmare she found herself in. She refused to believe that this was reality,that her beloved Angel Bunny was gone. She wanted nothing more than to wake up and find Angel curled up next to her on the bed. "Fluttershy! Fluttershy please snap out of it!" Twilight had her hooves on her friend and was shaking her badly in an attempt to snap Fluttershy out of her daze. It was no use, the pony in front of her wouldn't move. Twilight might as well of been talking to a statue. "I know you're distraught beyond belief right now Fluttershy but we need to move! Its not safe here. I'm really sorry about Angel but we have to go! It's not safe here." There was no other way, it seemed that Twilight was going to have to use her magic to move Fluttershy. Putting a soft purple glow around her horn Twilight began to concentrate on levitating her friend. She never got the chance to. Without any forewarning Twilight found herself shoved away by the friend she so desperately wanted to protect. "Fluttershy!? Why did you do that?" "No." "No?" Twilight mimicked. "What do you mean 'No'? No what?" I left you before because I was scared Angel. I promised you that I wasn't going to leave you again...but I did. Now you're gone because of me. "I'm not leaving without Angel." "Fluttershy, I'm sorry, really I am, but Angel Bunny is gone! He got taken by that SkinWalker! We have to get to safety!" An attempt to put a comforting hoof on her friends's shoulder was slapped away. There was no going around it, the young Princess was going to have to be direct with her friend if anything was going to be accomplished. "Angel's gone Fluttershy, I'm sorry but it's true." "No he's not gone! He's out there somewhere scared and with that...that...thing! I have to find him! I have to bring him back!" "Fluttershy! Angel is..."Twilight found herself froze in place. She couldn't move any part of her body, not even managing to tilt her head in any direction. All she could do was stand in place and continue to receive the stare that she was being given from her friend. "Fluttershy..." "No, don't say it! Don't you dare say it! Angel's not...gone." Denial. Twilight really couldn't blame Fluttershy for refusing to come to terms with what had happened. The hard stare that she was being given eventually softened. "He's not gone. I know he isn't, I just know." Free to move once again, Twilight walked up and gently placed a comforting hoof in her friend's shoulder. "Fluttershy what makes you think that Angel isn't gone? We both know that SkinWalker took him and we saw what that thing does to animals." "Well there's no blood in my cottage. You saw how Mr. Ruffled Ear's was. The inside of his shack was covered in blood and fur. My cottage doesn't look anything like that so maybe Angel didn't get hurt?." Twilight looked around the inside of Fluttershy's home and saw that this was true. Unlike the poor dogs shack the inside of the cottage was completely blood free. There seemed to be no signs of any struggle whatsoever. "Okay so there's no blood but that doesn't mean that Angel isn't...gone..." "Dead." Twilight found herself taken back by how bluntly her usually timid friend had said that. "No blood means that he isn't dead. That thing probably just took Angel to do who knows what! We can still find Angel and save him." "Look Fluttershy, I see what you mean with there being no blood but that doesn't mean that Angel isn't...dead. Angel was..." "Is!" Fluttershy corrected her. "...Is smaller than Mr. Ruffled Ears. Chances are there wouldn't of been a struggle to over power a rabbit. I want to believe that he's okay too, I really do, but right now there isn't any conclusive evidence that shows that he is." Holding out a hoof Twilight began motioning for Fluttershy to follow her. "Come on, lets get back to town and then we'll figure out what to do about Angel." Fluttershy shook her head gravely. "I'm not leaving without Angel." With that being said Fluttershy let her gaze fall and pawed at the floor of her cottage for a little. She took a deep breath before speaking again. "I'm going to go into the Everfree forest to look for Angel. I'm going to bring him back." "WHAT!?" It was absolutely ludicrous. The fact that any pony would willingly go into the EverFree forest at night was crazy enough as it was. Chasing a deadly creature warranted a mental evaluation as well. What really pushed Twilight over the edge was the pegasus willing to go through with it. "Fluttershy you can't be serious. Going into that forest right now is suicide! If that SkinWalker doesn't get you then something else surely will! Let's just head back to the library and then we can look for Angel in the morning with our friends to help us. How does that sound?" "It might be too late by then Twilight. I'm going into the forest to look for my Angel Bunny and there's nothing you can say to change my mind." It seemed there was no other option. "Fluttershy, understand that I will do whatever it takes to keep you out of that forest." Twilight's horn began to glow a brilliant shade of purple. She figured that a show of force would be enough of a deterrent and maybe even get her friend to start thinking rationally. Fluttershy stood in place for a moment wide eyed at how far Twilight was willing to go to keep her from going into the forest. I'm sorry Twilight but my mind is made up. Not you, that monster, or anything else is going to keep me from rescuing Angel. Without any hesitation that pegasus began moving towards her friend undeterred by the intensity of light coming from her horn that only glowed brighter as Fluttershy got closer. Walking past the alicorn princess Fluttershy met no resistance, only a sigh that escaped her friend. "I know that you just want to protect me Twilight but right now all I want to do protect Angel. I'm going to find him and bring him back." "We." "Huh?" "We are going to find him and bring him back." The light emanating from Twilight's horn reduced until it was just a soft glow again. "You're right, I do want to protect you and it seems that the only way I'm going to do that is by going with you into the EverFree forest." Practically bursting into tears Fluttershy quickly rushed over and embraced Twilight in a hug that would of put Pinkie Pie to shame. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you Twilight!" "Don't mention it. Seriously though, don't mention it. You might cause me to change my mind about this whole thing. So come on, lets go save you're Angel Bunny."
Chapter 5Chapter 5: Search Lunatic! Imbecile! Demented! Twilight really couldn't blame her mind for yelling at her. It had every right to be upset with the young princess as she had willingly agreed to be part of this search and rescue. In all honesty she would of wanted nothing more than to just grab the pegasus with her magic and carry her back to the safety of the town. If her friend proved too uncooperative then teleportaion was always another option. Just a few moments ago she had flaunted her magic in an effort to deter Fluttershy from chasing after her beloved pet rabbit. With all the magic she had built up she could of easily relocated the two to Canterlot's gardens in the blink of an eye, but she hadn't. Was that all that was? Just a show of force? Would I really have gone through with it and forced Fluttershy away from Angel? She cast a quick glance at the pegasus in question. Fluttershy's eyes were red and swollen, dried water trails covered her face, and her usually tidy flowing mane was ragged and splinter at the tips. Above all else she had a certain look in her eyes, they gleamed and shone of hope and fear. The answer was all too clear. A sigh escaped the Princess, the cool night air allowing her to see her breath. "Fluttershy, I know I said I would go with you to look for Angel but I just need to know one thing. I just have one question I want to ask and I need you to answer me truthfully." "I promise that I'll answer you truthfully Twilight." "Fluttershy, are you one hundred percent certain that Angel is still alive? I need to know that if we go searching for him that we'll save him. I won't risk mine or yours safety for a fools errand. Look me in the eye and tell me that you're absolutely sure that he's out there." Fluttershy's mouth moved silently as if she was finding a way to word what was on her mind. Her eyes darted back and forth searching for nothing in particular, hoping to spot something that would assure her of Angel. She found none and she needed none. Angel was alive and she knew it, her beloved rabbit was out there somewhere waiting to be cradled lovingly again in her hooves. "Angel Bunny is alive Twilight. Don't ask me how I know because not even I'm sure how I can be so confident about this, but I am. He's out there Twilight, and we're going to rescue him." It wasn't much to go on but at least it was something. Was it enough? For any other pony with at least an inch of sanity probably not. For Twilight however it was all she needed to go ahead with this insane rescue. "Right then, that just leaves the question of how we are going to find Angel." An obvious question that left Fluttershy embarrassed, to say the least, that she hadn't thought of it herself. Her mind raced with possibilities of how the two of them were going to find Angel. Through her years of working with animals she had become an adequate tracker, being able to distinguish animals apart from the prints and remains they left behind. Most of her tracking had been done during daylight however and to make things worse she didn't know where to begin to look. "Well if I had a good source of light I could probably track Angel. Could you maybe light up your horn and give me some light to do it? Oh but first I would have to find his tracks and that might take a while. Oh where would I even begin to look? Maybe I should..." I highly doubt your rabbit just walked out of this cottage Fluttershy. Besides, I don't think he's the one we should be tracking if we want to find him. "I don't think he walked out of the cottage by himself Fluttershy. Most likely he was taken by force by that SkinWalker and probably carried out. If we'll have any chance of rescuing Angel then we need to find that SkinWalker. I really don't see any any other way of doing this." "So we have to look for that monster?" Twilight slowly nodded her ahead. "But how are we going to find it?" "That's what I've been pondering over as well, and I think that I may actually have a solution." This really is the only way we're going to find that thing. "From what I saw in Mr. Ruffled Ears's shack there was a lot of blood, correct?" Fluttershy simply replied with an uneasy nod. "Most likely that SkinWalker is tracking blood then from when it attacked Mr. Ruffled Ears. All we have to do is follow the blood trail that it's leaving behind and it should eventually lead us to it and Angel, hopefully." Twilight's plan seemed to make sense except for one flaw that Fluttershy couldn't help but overlook. "Um, Twilight, when I looked around my cottage just now I didn't see any...blood. How are we going to track it without a trail?" Any other day any this would actually make great lecture topic. "The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence Fluttershy." "Um, what?" "Exactly, just because you can't see the blood doesn't mean that it isn't there. Allow me to demonstrate with this new spell I've been working on." Twilight closed her eyes and her horn began to give off it's usual lavender glow. Furrowing her eyebrows a little, the light from her horn slowly began to change color. A pale bluish color was cast around the two friends in small radius. Perhaps it was due to the darkness of night but Fluttershy had never seen a light like that before. "Twilight, what is that light?" "Neat huh? It's called the Black Light spell." "But the light isn't black, its bluish actually." "I know, there isn't such a thing as black light. It's just the name given to the spell because of what the light does. Here let me show you." Twilight made her way inside Fluttershy's cottage and began blowing out all the reaming candles. As soon as the cottage was completely dark a new light began to shine from the floor. Fluttershy's eyes widened as she noticed spots of pale orange glow around the inside of her home. "Why is the floor glowing orange in those places?" "The black light is showing us the traces of blood that we wouldn't usually be able to see with our eyes. Those spots are orange are the traces of blood. Look, you can even see speckles of orange on your hooves." A quick glance and Fluttershy noticed that this was true. Where the blue light touched her hooves there were small spots of orange. "With this spell we should be able to track the SkinWalker and find Angel." Walking out and closing the door behind her Twilight made her way down the path following the small spots of orange glow. Fluttershy quickly fell in line behind her friend as she was lead around her cottage and the grounds surrounding it. The two walked around the cottage for a little while following the trail which at one point lead them away from the small home and to the entrance of the EverFree Forest. Just as I feared. That SkinWalker did head into the EverFree Forest. No turning back now I guess. "Come on Fluttershy, the trail leads into the forest." Twilight half expected to hear a protest from her timid friend. When there was none she carried on and lead the way down the path and into the forest. *** The two friends had walked on the path for about thirty minutes before the glowing trail lead them off of it. Most of the walk had been in silence with neither wanting to say anything for fear of startling the other. Finally it was Fluttershy who broke the silence with a question that had been bugging her for the last couple of minutes. "Twilight, what are we going to do when we find the SkinWalker?" "What do you mean Fluttershy?" "Are we going to have to fight Twilight? I'm not really much of a fighter and I don't really like violence all too much either." "It saddens me to say this Fluttershy but I really don't see any outcome where we don't have to have to fight the SkinWalker. According to the legends they're supposed to be prone to violence when confronted. Their physical strength is greater than the average pony and they have a high level of magic. When we do confront this SkinWalker it won't be an easy fight." Twilight turned back to look at Fluttershy who was doing her best to hide the look of concern on her face. "I need you to understand one thing though Fluttershy. If it looks like we are in danger and I can't protect us from the SkinWalker then I won't hesitate to teleport us out of the forest. Is that clear?" "Yes Twilight." Fluttershy said in almost a whisper. "Good. Now lets stop here for a minute. I need to make some preparations for hopfully, I can't believe I'm actually hoping for this, our confrontation with the SkinWalker. Do me a favor and tear of branch from a tree will you?" Doing as she was told the pegasus quickly flew up, grabbed hold of a decent sized skinny tree branch, snapped it off, and flew back down to Twilight. "All right, now place the branch in front of me please and then take a few steps back." Once the branch was in front of her and Fluttershy was a safe distance away, Twilight began to concentrate. "Fluttershy I'm going to cease the Black Light spell and cast a new one. During that time we'll have no light until the new spell is cast and it will be pitch black for a moment. Don't panic alright?" With that being said the pale blue light faded and the darkness of the forest over took them for a instant. In the next moment a magnificent flame erupted around the tree branch that laid in front of Twilight. The flame glowed in a prism of colors before finally resting on a white radiance. The white flame only lasted a few moments before it extinguished itself and once again the two friends fond themselves surrounded by darkness. "Twilight, what did you just do?" Fluttershy asked curiously. "I created white ash. From what I've read about SkinWalkers their one major drawback is that they're susceptible to white ash for whatever reason. Should give us an edge." As happy as Fluttershy was for having a way to defend themselves she was still a little put off by the darkness. "Twilight could you please make you're horn glow again? It's really dark in the EverFree Forest, more than I actually remembered." "Sure, just let me cast the Black Light Spell again, then we'll just take the white ash and continue tracking this SkinWalker." Closing her eyes Twilight began to once again focus on the needed spell. Moments passed with no light being the result. What the? Huh, that white ash spell must of taken more out me than I originally thought. Let me warm up with a simple illumination spell. Twilight once again closed her eyes and focused on the easier spell, still no light came from her. The young Princess became distraught when she realized that her horn wasn't even glowing with her aura. Panic began to seep into her mind as she turned towards her friend. "Fluttershy, I can't use my magic."
