DISCLAIMER: I do not own the My Little Pony franchise, nor the Aliens franchise. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic belongs to Hasbro and their respective owners. Aliens goes to Fox Entertainment and their respective owners. This fanfiction was created for entertainment purposes only.
“Fear cuts deeper than swords.”
George R.R. Martin
Fluttershy climbed into her bed as an owl hooted deep into the darkness of night. Her friends have been helping her with getting over her fear of the dark, as she always had to sleep with a night light on. Fluttershy knew her friends meant well to help her sleep without one. Twilight mentioned that removal of a little fear can help combat a bigger one. The animal caretaker wanted as much as her friends wanted her to chip away at the black cloud that always manifested in her mind.
Fluttershy couldn't sleep with the night light off. Everything looked like a clawed gryphon talon that was going to reach out and rake at her head or a gapping mouth that wanted to swallow her whole. Perspiration built up on her forehead, and she clambered out of bed. Angel Bunny, one of her dearest, though not exactly well behaved at times, companion and pet bunny, hopped over to her with a glass of warm milk, something a little nice he could do in order to cheer her up.
"Oh...thank you Angel...", she took the glass carefully with her hooves and sipped at it. Angel tapped his foot on the floor, and crossed his arms. Fluttershy had finished the glass, and licked the milk from her lips. She looked at her companion, and waited for a response. Except that Angel was looking for one.
"I-I just can't do it Angel...everything looks terrifying without the night light on...", Fluttershy hid her face in her pink mane, "I really want to sleep without it. For me and my friends. They're worried sick about me...and I don't want to let them down."
Angel watched her talk and tried to listen as well as he could. But halfway through another sentence, he slapped his paw over her mouth and pointed at the now turned off night light.
"Oh...I can't Angel...", a little tear came down her eye. Angel then backed off, jumped down, and patted her leg, since he was much shorted than Fluttershy. He hopped over and clicked on the light. The scary images that Fluttershy's mind made of the place disappeared instantly.
"Just...one more night?", Fluttershy asked Angel. He only smacked his paw on his face.
"Right...I guess it's up to me. I'll sleep with it for one more night.", she had remembered that that was she had thought for the past few years, since her fear of the dark became much more extreme and vivid. She left the little-pony-galloping-over-the-sun designed light on, feeling ashamed that this was something that foals and fillies had in their rooms, and clambered into bed.
"Goodnight Angel.", Fluttershy spoke. Angel chattered and rolled up in his basket.
Fluttershy tossed in her sleep, the fourth time this week. Sweat built up on her forehead, and her mind created more illusions of fear that dragged their arms all over her. She felt her blanket slowly pull away, her mattress slowly disappear, and be replaced by a cold and hard stone surface. She gasped as her eyes shot open, her pupils adjusted to their surroundings, and she looked around.
She wasn't in her bed room.
"Nnn...huh?", Fluttershy began to shake at the unfamiliar surroundings. Her wooden walls were gone, and have been replaced by a towering room with white marble for its floor and stone pillars that added detail and support for the room. She got to her hooves and backed away from....whatever she was in, but her rump hit the wall. Her head lowered and she began to hyperventilate as her eyes shot around and researched her surroundings. But she felt...that she had seen this place before...
"W-Where am I...?", she shuddered and finally gathered enough information to know of her location. It was the hall where Shining Armor and Princess Cadence had their wedding. It was also the center of the...she forgot what those horrible love-feeding creatures were, but she knew enough that this hall was where they attacked. From this, she discovered her exact and complete location.
"Canterlot. I'm in Canterlot. But how?", her mind raced through all of the possibilities, the more time she thought about it, the more disturbing suggestions her mind threw at her. She shook her head and curled up against the walls. She sniffled and a little tear formed on her eye. When she opened them, the tear raced down her face and hit the ground with a little "plip". Then, Fluttershy looked much harder at her surroundings. She didn't have to, since the most disturbing realization came to her without much focus.
The entire hall was in ruins.The walls were cracked, several columns were on the ground, windows were broken, littering colored glass all over the floor, and stones from the broken floor and walls were scattered all over. The wind pushed through the holes in the giant and thick walls, sending a sharp chill down Fluttershy's spine. She shivered and shook as she became paralyzed against the stone wall.
Little images of Shining Armor waiting at the alter while Princess Cadence approached in her beautiful gown played back in her memory. It felt sad...yet warm to Fluttershy. But as soon as the memory came, it went, vanishing back into the fog that always floated around in her mind. Fluttershy looked around once again to confirm that she was in the same alter, which she already knew the answer to. but what puzzled her most was how she got here. Her friends mentioned a little trouble with Fluttershy's sleepwalking, but surely she couldn't have wandered all the way to Canterlot.
Right?
She got up on her hooves, sunk her head down, and slowly walked through the hall, her "clip" "clop" "clip" "clop" noises from her hooves echoing across the hall. She stopped, her heart trying to escape from her chest, and her breathing getting out of hand again. She stayed where she was and slowed herself down. She took slow breaths...
"One..."
"Two..."
It didn't take long for her to get moving again. She turned towards the giant doors that lead into the alter, which one was on the floor and in near splinters, and she walked out. When she came outside on the balcony of the massive tower, a horrid sight awaited her.
The entire majestic castle of Canterlot, or at least once majestic castle was in ruins. It was crumbling, missing structure, and it was completely barren of any life. Not even the rich and rather snobby citizens of Canterlot were seen anywhere. Fluttershy backed away from the ledge and walked down the stairs.
"Ooh...I hope everypony's okay...", she cooed to herself as she walked down the spiral stairwell. Fluttershy came to a stop at the bottom of the tower, and saw the gardens nearby. The hedge maze, the vegetable gardens, the fountains, and all of the plants seemed caught by just the same fate as the rest of the castle.
"What happened to this place?", Fluttershy stretched out her wings, and took off from the tower towards the gardens. Once she lifted off, something slammed into her back, sending a heavy and blunt pain through her back, and made her produce a shriek. She tumbled down into the lake at the gardens and braced for impact.
Fluttershy slowly crawled back onto dry land, shivering and crying from both the pain and her low temperature, as being wet and high altitude mountains didn't exactly make for a warm area. When she tried to fold her wings, one of them didn't budge and an incredibly sharp spasm shot through her shoulder. She yelped and craned her neck. In every angle, except the one that it is supposed to be, was her wing bent. Red fluid oozed out of the cracks in it, and most of her feathers were absent. Fluttershy nearly lost consciousness at the sight of her own blood...
"Nnnn...", the butter-coated pony's coat grew to a not-so butter color. It grew a bit more pale as her vision closed on its edges...
But Fluttershy barely remained awake, and that's what she was going to be. She sighed and cried after what she realized what she had to do next.
Fluttershy took hold of her own wing, and with one sharp move-
"SNAP"
"AAAAHHHHH!!!", she screamed as the wing was forced into its appropriate position, sending the most unbearable feeling into her flight appendage, her shoulder, and her two right legs. Fluttershy fell down and breathed slower and slower into the grass, now stained red from her blood. She dragged herself against a tree and leaned up against it. She tasted the sharp taste of iron through her teeth and a tiny bit of blood came trickling down her chin. Fluttershy leaned back and slowly slipped away from the world, closing over her head. She slept for hours, but what matters is that she still woke up. She opened one eye and looked at her surroundings. It was night. Dark...and alone...
"Oh no...not night time...please Celestia, anything but this...", Fluttershy coughed. Her wing still hurt, but it was a lot less than what she was experiencing before. Her vision adjusted to night, and her sight became a bit more clear. She stood up, fell down from the pain in her wing, then stood up again, fighting back at it. She inced forward slowly. Foal steps.
Her heart raced as she was unable to see feet in front of her, but it soon extended to yards, then everything became clear from her night vision. But...almost to clear. She remembered the vampire fruit bat incident.
Could she still retain some of their abilities? Like night vision? And why didn't it come earlier, like to help her with her fear of the dark? It didn't bother Fluttershy now. It was a gift, since she could see nearly as well as if it were in the afternoon.
"Hello? Is anypony here?", she shut her mouth quickly. Why did she just call out like that? In the dark? Fluttershy walked around the gardens, coming to a familiar clearing where she had her abysmal Gala. She giggled a bit of what she shouted when the animals wouldn't play with her.
"You. Will. All...LOVE ME!!!"
"I can't believe I actually said that-"
Something whisked around her.
She turned around. Her night vision couldn't detect anything. She slowly turned her head and-
-nothing. Ahead was clear. Nothing scary, just the slightly unfamiliar layout of the gardens of Canterlot. She looked back again.
Nothing.
She looked forward.
Nothing.
She heaved her breath out, creating a little white cloud, and trudged onward. It was a little uneventful walk, but she came to a fountain. And it was still spouting water. As if right on the sight, her tongue dried up, and she needed to have a drink. She galloped towards the fountain, dunked her snout in, and took in a sip. It tasted odd.
And that was odd too. The water in Canterlot was always fresh and clean. Even in the fountains. But it tasted...familiar. Not like water...but it tasted like-
-then she realized it. There was another pony laying in the fountain. It bore gashed in every place imaginable on its body. Even its eyes were missing. A red liquid was draining out of the body...and into the-
Fluttershy spat out the water, a red mist blowing in front of her. Her tongue now was plagued by the taste of another pony's blood, and she began to pant heavily again. She began to pant faster- and faster- and faster...
"I-I-I, that's a-a-ahhhhhhHHHH!!!", she shrieked as she backed away from the fountain rapidly, bumping into something else. Another pony, eyes petrified in horror, entrails splattered all over the ground. Fluttershy brought her flank out of the guts and exchanged her vision between the two corpses. A cloud of her breath assembled in front of her from her rapid breathing, and she felt nauseous again. In one quick action, she hurled her dinner onto the ground in front of her, the rancid stench of bile mixing from the horrid burning smell of corpses. She felt weak again, but she stood back up.
Her willpower wasn't enough though, as she whimpered and panted over what she had experienced and felt. She collapsed to the ground and curled up. Fluttershy cried again. Her tears hitting the ground were only accompanied by the sound of the fountain running and her sulking. It was five minutes of sobbing, but she regained herself and looked up.
One of the bodies had disappeared. A trail of blood lead into one of the hedges. Fluttershy backed away from it, knowing that curiosity would surely kill the cat. She walked onward, aided with her night vision. Then, the fountain stopped running, and the sound of water, or blood, flowing was now replaced by little drips as the remaining pouring came down before stopping completely. When Fluttershy turned around to continue walking, she could have sworn a black bony tail slithered away into a hedge...
...or maybe her mind was playing tricks on her, like it always was.
Fluttershy had remembered which way it was to exit Canterlot. Having again, an uneventful trot through the darkness, she eventually stopped at the massive wooden doors to the grand ballroom. She remembered that Twilight Sparkle told her it was always filled with some sort of event...
...Twilight Sparkle. Fluttershy exhaled heavily as her mind, once again, race through possibilities. Was she okay? Were her friends okay? What if everypony was really gone? What if she was the only one left?
She was the only one left.
Only one left.
ONLY ONE LEFT.
ONLY ONE LEFT.
Fluttershy gripped her head and convulsed with pain. The words throbbed and pounded inside. Her pupils shrunk and she heaved with every breath. a tiny puddle of sweat formed on the ground ahead of the doors. She felt like she wanted to collapse and just cry until she died. She would be free of all of this lonelyness. But no. She had to be strong. Her friends are counting on her. If...they even are alive. She moved the massive ballroom door open, finding it rather effortless despite its huge size. What was inside, was puzzling, to say the least.
There was wine shattered across the floor, the room was decorated, but the decorations were all torn apart. But there was something amiss inside the room. Of course, there wasn't a soul in sight. But what was odd, was the fact that, for reasons Fluttershy couldn't explain to herself, was that whatever happened here, didn't happen long ago. It tugged her in the back of the head.
"Tick...tack...tick...tack...", Fluttershy's ear perked up as she heard something else. The sounds were light...and sported a pattern...it had to be somepony else. But it didn't make the sound of hooves, it made the sound of feet. Long, slender feet. It made the right sound for it.
Fluttershy silently walked away from the noise, as her heart seemed to grow even louder than the sound of the other being's footsteps. She managed to outwalk the soul and hid behind the grand ballroom's exit door. She slowed her breathing down...
"One..."
"Two..."
"One..."
"Two..."
"RRRRRRGHHHH..."
Fluttershy gasped at the growl and backed away from the door.
"CRACK!", the door splintered a hole as a skeletal, black, and large spike sporting tail ripped through the door and impacted on the marble inches away from Fluttershy's hooves. She jumped up, turned, and ran with all of her might. She had made it down the hallway when she had heard the door burst and another screech filled the corridor. Fluttershy squeaked and ran as fast as her legs could carry her, but her mind kept playing back to her. It wasn't enough. It would reach her.
I would reach her.
It was gaining.
It's coming.
No escape.
"No...no...NO!", she bolted down another corridor and felt the breeze of something four times her size bolt past her, and try and grab her tail. She ran down another door, and headed down the stairwell. She slammed the door shut, knowing what little it would do, and found herself in Canterlot's massive library.
The broken-winged pegasus searched around the dark tomes of the library. And not very long, a nose-blinding stench punched into her nostrils. She gagged at the horrid smell and coughed as she could even taste it. She knew she could not go back the way she came. Some monster was waiting for her...
She walked into the maze of books, scrolls, and parchments. Everything seemed to grow when she walked towards them, stretch above her head. It made her feel smaller than ever, especially alone. As Fluttershy explored around, the stench either grew or faded. Her mind wanted her to explore where that smell was coming from. But Fluttershy truly just wanted to escape this place, now inhabited by something that wanted to kill her. It didn't help her that her mind kept trying to replicate what the monster looked like in her mind, only to show it eviscerate her in every single known fashion her brain could produce.
The smell grew stronger as she walked in a certain direction. When Fluttershy came to the end of a bookcase, she could turn her head around the edge. Just for a peek. If everything was safe. She craned her neck around, and immediately, she wished she never had done such a thing.
There was this green ooze everywhere. Ponies were trapped in it, some squirming, other moaning. Some lay dead inside of it, massive holes in their chest. Something had erupted out of them. The ones that were still moving, or shrieking, had the most disturbing thing on them.
A skeletal-like spider the size of a pony's head had its body fixed on their head, covering their faces. Its legs wrapped around their head, and a thin and long tail wrapped around their necks. Some ponies didn't move with the spiders on their heads, and some did, shrieking and murmuring through the creatures.
"Nnnngh...help...me..."
"Celestia...help me... "
"Please...somepony..."
Fluttershy backed away, stepping in little puddles of goo herself, and noticed something all over the floor. Pods. They resembled eggs, and they were translucent enough for Fluttershy to see the outline of the same spiders wriggling around inside. One egg moved more than the others, and it cracked open, another spider covered in slime screeching and crawling down its pod. Fluttershy then heard the door that she had entered the library in burst open and completely get reduced to shards of wood. She frantically looked around her to see if there was a way out. Her eyes fixed on another door, leading to Canterlot's main balcony. She was about to bolt towards it, but a giant shadow loomed over the door. A very long head composed the top of it, and a slender arm with six fingers on its hand, accompanied by claws gripped on the bookcase nearest to the door. Fluttershy watched as the monster's head poked around the corner. No eyes were visible, nor any nose. But it's shiny black head bore a mouth, filled with razor-sharp teeth, dripping slime that when it hit the ground, it steamed and sizzled, probably dissolving it, like an acid. Her mind drew the head more clearly in her head...
Fluttershy quieted her breathing down as the monster hissed and poked its head around. She could hear it slowly slink around the corner, bearing its teeth. Fluttershy moved around the opposite side of the bookshelf and slowly skimmed along the surface of it. The monster swiveled its head around and searched for the intruder. The pony kept slinking along the bookcase...
"THUNK!"
A book fell down as she bumped into it. Her next impulse was to run. Fast. Her instinct was right, as the very place she once was on the bookshelf came bursting apart as the creature smashed through the wooden case and roared a sharp screech. Fluttershy galloped to the door as fast as she could, slammed it with her hind hoof, and ran up the stairs towards the main Canterlot balcony. She spread her wings, but too late remembered that one was disabled, and nearly fell off the edge as the edge of the balcony was no longer protected by the white stone border. She heard the library's door burst open, and she turned around.
It's coming.
It's coming Fluttershy.
It's coming...
"No...please...", Fluttershy whispered as the footsteps grew more rapid in the stairwell. She immediately looked for other ways to escape. No other ways. The only way out of the balcony was through the library. The realization hit Fluttershy.
YOU'RE TRAPPED.
Fluttershy's breathing picked up again, faster than what she had ever exhaled before. The monster climbed up and up, drawing near. She backed away, but her hind hoof dipped over the massive drop over the balcony. Jumping may not seem like such a bad idea now, but when she looked back, the monster was approaching her. It had climbed the stair well, and all of its horrific features were now clearly visible.
The monster's tail slid across the floor, dragging it as the beast snarled its teeth and advanced towards her. A green goo dripped out of its tail and mouth, plopping on the floor and making a little hissing noise as it melted through the marble. Fluttershy's mind began to close her vision out. It was fading as the monster grew near. Static and sparks along the borders of her sight crept towards her vision.
Then, something clicked in her mind.
She didn't know what it was.
Just...something clicked.
"I'm not afraid of you.", she spoke words that even surprised herself. But it was true. She wasn't. She stamped her hoof.
"I'm not afraid of you."
She slowly leaned back, and dipped over the balcony, extending her arms, and waiting for gravity to carry her down and end her life...
The nightmare would be over...
But the monster had other plans. Its tail lashed out and it impacted its sharp spike into Fluttershy's leg. The burning of acid coursed though her and the tail pulled her back up and slammed her into the hard surface. the creature leaped on top of her, and opened its mouth wide. She saw it tongue. The tongue was very thick, but what was most frightening was another set of jaws on it. The tongue drew back, and instinctively, Fluttershy wiped her head to the side. The tongue shot out like a piston and impacted through one of her ears, tearing through it and punching a hole into the solid marble. It reset again, came back, and it shot out. It grazed her cheek forming a long gash on it and pebbles erupted from the floor as the tongue blasted through it like a hammer.
Then, Fluttershy pressed her hind hooves to its belly, and began to push up on it, fighting the pain in her other leg that was injured from the tail. The monster realized this and it raked its claws across her face. She screamed as the nails tore into her cheeks and opened them up, gushing blood onto the floor. She lifted up the monster higher, surprising both her and shocking the beast. It sliced her face again, and blinded one of her eyes, and tore apart her nose. She was beginning to choke on her own blood now. Then, with one lift, she pushed the monster off of her, and it tumbled over the balcony. It's arm clawed at the surface, but to no avail as it went over. A sickening "SHICK" was heard as Fluttershy guessed the monster had impaled itself on one of the lower tower's spires. The beast screeched and roared as its pain drew out its most horrendous noises. After a few seconds, the sounds died away...
Fluttershy coughed up her blood and looked around the balcony. Her vision was beginning to fade out.
But she spotted something. it was another black hand. the same as the monster's. Another head emerged and Fluttershy wanted to scream at the sight of another one, but she couldn't. She had lost her voice.
Then, another one crawled down from the ceiling.
Another one came from up the wall.
Then, more and more emerged from every place.
There were hundreds.
HUNDREDS.
HUNDREDS
They all slowly approached her, teeth bared, tails angled...
Fluttershy wanted to close her eyes, but the pain was too much for her to do that...
One monster stood over her. It had one of those spider-like creatures in its hands...
The spider's legs wiggled, and the monster slowly lowered it onto Fluttershy's head...
Fluttershy blacked out.
Author's Note
Stick around for the epilogue.
Though I have no clue who made the fanart for the crouching Xenomorph, great job man/madame. You know who you are. Kudos.
