It was cold, much too cold for the mid-Spring that should currently be warming the Kingdom of Equestria. Opening her eyes slowly at first, Fluttershy's vision is flooded by all the light and vibrancy that she would expect from a typical morning in her cottage on the edge of Ponyville. As the last traces of sleep leave her, however, they widen in an instant to view a breathtaking landscape that is certainly not expected.
Laying by the edge of a large lake, she gasps as the world glistens with a colorful radiance that could take even one such as her by surprise. Soft morning sunlight is reflected off the surface of the water, throwing bright, lancing rays back into a wide blue sky. The deep sage treetops that surround the embankments seem almost alive as they wave in the passing breeze. And carried on that breeze, for as far as she can see in any direction, are an uncountable number of petals.
Dancing with the light and wind above, these innumerable petals from such a numerous variety of flowers that Fluttershy couldn't begin to name a fraction of them, form cascading waves of unnamed shades and colors in the sky. Even the surface of the water was covered in aquatic blooms of all types, shifting back and forth gently with the rhythm of the tide.
She has never seen something so beautiful, and yet deep down, it also felt almost unsettling. As though the flowers that dominate her view at every turn were committing a grave sin, just by being there. As if they would feel unclean if she were to touch one, wrong in a way she couldn't quite put a hoof on. Her reverie is broken by a childish laughter, the noise finally drawing her attention from the morbid grace of the symphony of colors around her.
Near the edge of the water a small distance away from her is what appears to be a huddled blue and white mass. It giggles to itself in a young, feminine voice, clearly a foal of some sort. Sharp spikes of ice quiver in the air at its back, forming a crude semblance of wings that sparkle and shine like jewels in the sun.
The mare is terrified, lost, and alone in this strange new place. She would normally be a sobbing wreck by this point, but the calm atmosphere of nature around her keeps her sense of fear from overcoming her wonder. Making up her mind after a moments hesitation, she rises to her hooves and cautiously trots towards the laughing figure.
The details become more refined the closer she gets, and she is able to make out the amateurish stitching on the foal's dress. A blue ribbon tied into paler blue hair giving distinction to the red string wrapped about her neck.
With apprehensive steps, Fluttershy inches her way closer and closer until she finally sees exactly what the gleeful child is so happily laughing about. Her eyes widen at the horrendous sight that greets her as her blood runs cold.
This... thing (as rude as labeling the creature as such, even in her mind), is picking up frogs and somehow freezing them into solid blocks of ice! Who could do something so cruel!? The mare instantly concludes that intervention is necessary, even if she wasn't the greatest with foals...
With a single mighty (for her, anyway) flap, she is quickly beside the small creature. Her face no longer speaks of timid caution, but conviction, and anger bordering on righteous fury. "H-hey, what do you think you're doing!?" Mustering more volume than she thought possible the mare yells out in indignation.
Becoming startled, a visible shiver travels up the back of the little winged thing as it yelps in alarm. The frog in her grasp is fumbled for a few seconds, but ultimately shatters against the grass after a short fall. "Ah... You made me drop it..." Heaving a disappointed sigh, the young creature turns back with a slightly peeved look plastered on her face.
The anger coursing through Fluttershy dies out quickly with the sound of breaking ice, her expression changing from stern, to horrified in an instant. She stares at two cleanly split halves of the frog, knowing for certain that there was no saving it now.
With now misty eyes and trembling lower lip, the pony directs her forlorn gaze back to the foal. Now up close, she can see that it resembles a sort of furless primate, or perhaps one of the hoomans that her dear friend Princess Twilight Sparkle told her about. "W-why would you... Do something like that...?" She does her best to hold back the tears, but the seemingly uncaring expression on the thing's face makes her sniffle all the more.
The foal stares back with a confused look at the pegasus before laughing playfully again. "Cause freezing stuff is the funnest, of course! Everything makes a different sound when it's temperature suddenly drops, did you know? Besides, these frogs have it coming!" Looking away, a pensive, almost troubled look enters her icy blue eyes, as though thinking back on something unpleasant that occurred to her in the past.
After a moments reflection, she blinks back to the present and faces the mare once more with a toothy grin and smiling eyes. "Oh well, finding new things to freeze is part of the fun too! All it take is one touch... I wonder what interesting sound you'll make~?"
A hand like a minotaur's reaches slowly towards the now trembling mare, as the temperature around her begins to rapidly decrease. Thoughts of fleeing are entertained, but she can't seem to look away from the approaching appendage that spells her doom.
"N-no..." She cowers down, trying to put as much distance as she can between the two without much success. Her trembles have become tremors, her breath now visible puffs of vapor, and frost begins to form on the tips of her fur as her end inches closer and closer.
"Please..." Over the pounding pulse of her panicked heart can be heard crinkling sounds like falling hailstones, as those colorful petals that drift too close seemingly share her fate, to freeze and fall to the earth.
And then the world before her explodes.
Neither party are given a chance to react as glowing orbs of crimson and sunny yellow rip through the ground in a tight, controlled line. With all the suddenness of lightning, and a thunderous, rumbling detonation, the world becomes a haze of flashing light, deafening sound, and unsettled earth.
"EEEP!"
Each sphere about the size of her head is its own blur of indomitable power, stripping away grass and soil with terrifying ferocity and speed. Even if she could have moved in the face of such a destructive onslaught, she wouldn't have dared.
And then it was over as quickly as it had begun. Nothing but dust and petals left to fall and settle over the ragged scars torn in the earth.
Staring straight ahead in terror induced shock, Fluttershy barely registers the sudden down-burst of air that flows from above. With a light step, the apparent source of this devastation alights upon what remains of the ground before her. The gentle tap from its rust brown loafer sends the sift spiraling away from its point of descent, as though fleeing in mass exodus from one with such power.
"There's really no helping teasing a fairy, especially one with such an inflated ego~"
A throaty chuckle following this melodious statement partially snaps Fluttershy from her stupor, bringing her horrified eyes to bear at this new biped.
She, it must be a she judging from the soft tone and lilting voice, doesn't seem to notice the mare mere feet away, instead inspecting the destruction wrought by her own hand with a content expression. Shoulder length, leaf green hair above crimson eyes waves in the passing breeze, contrasting sharply with the bright red plaid dress she dons, and the blossom like parasol held loosely over a shoulder. The vibrantly embellished hooman stands out vividly even in the midst of her surroundings, a deadly flower among flowers.
Seemingly satisfied, she finally turns her gaze down to the stunned pegasus with an amiable smile, as though seeing something mildly amusing for the first time. "Oh my, you're an interesting creature, aren't you? I've never seen something quite like you, and that can't be said of much in this world~ Tell me, what do you think of the Pink Snow Dahlia?"
Fluttershy isn't quite sure what to make of this new hooman, or the question it asked of her. Her instincts are screaming at her, shrieking that she should be in fear for her life, but it's all just too much. With a distant voice and unfocused eyes, she replies without much thought, distracted by the overwhelming situation she finds herself in. "Oh, uhm... t-they're... nice..."
The hooman seems pleased with the answer, her smile widening with a nod as she spins the parasol absent-mindedly. "They are~ It suits you rather well, I think. You're certainly something different, and a change of pace is always welcome in Gensokyo~ Someone needs to keep that destitute shrine maiden busy, though from the looks of you, you won't be around long enough to meet her...~"
Gensokyo? That small gleaming of insight into her current whereabouts is finally enough to return the mare to full focus. And with it, the realization that the being she is casually conversing with just snuffed that poor foal out of existence with barely an afterthought. Her gaze hardens as she stares up in defiance at this mockery of life.
"How could you...? How can you act like this, like nothing happened after you... k... killed... that foal!? Don't you even care!?" She would never forget the fear that little one induced in her, how she seemed ready to end her own life with a smile, but nothing deserved that. Her kind heart would allow her to regard the deceased with nothing but pity.
Stepping forward, she brings to bear the full force of her stare, a power that has dominated the psyche of animals and dragons alike. She would teach this cruel creature how wrong she was, teach her that life is something to be cherished, no matter the circumstance.
"...So what if I don't, what's it to you~? I've lost count of how many fairies I've torn down, they really are such pesky things~" With a slight tilt of her head as she speaks, the hooman bends forward to match the gaze of the suddenly perturbed Fluttershy at her feet.
It isn't working. Her stare is failing.
She can feel whatever influence her gaze may hold slipping past the deep red eyes to no effect. The world begins to fade away as those sanguine pools inch closer in challenge. They hold a twinkling amusement at the plight of the now squirming pegasus, but something much darker pulses and writhes beneath the surface. Thinly veiled threat of a meaningless death, a hatred and rage older than she can imagine. The monster before her may appear to be the very pinnacle of elegance, but underneath the polish and graceful poise was the barely restrained brutality of a beast.
No, nothing so simple. A beast would be something Fluttershy could handle, but this was like trying to stare down a force of nature. Pleading with the hurricane to be spared it's savage maelstrom, begging mercy of a raging inferno that blazes all around and consumes without remorse. The pressure bearing down on her from those eyes is almost enough to grind her into the ground at her hooves. Slowly, her form shakily lowers itself to the dirt in fearful submission.
And with a simple blink, the sunlight is falling softly upon her once more as the world comes back into view. Eyes that promised violence moments ago are now suddenly closed in apparent joy, framed once more by cheerfully smiling face. "Backing down so suddenly after all that, you really are spineless, aren't you~?"
With muzzle buried into the crook of her wither behind a veil of pink mane, eyes downcast, and ears laying flat against her skull, Fluttershy trembles silently on the ground.
She was being mocked, mocked for her weakness in the face of this demon straight from the depths of Tartarus that was clearly capable of ending her with the slightest gesture. The innate knowledge of how easily she could have been erased comes almost unbidden to the shivering mare, but it was there all the same. Even without the explosive display of magic that she bore witness to, she would have realized. A testament to instincts that were driven into her species at birth, innate knowledge to hide away from the darkness and the sharp things that lurk within.
With a flourish, the monster turns and takes to the air once more, calling back over a shoulder as she goes. "It's not as though you can really kill a fairy anyway~ That one will be back to being a nuisance again by nightfall, so don't look so crestfallen~ You can always wait around if you want to play with her some more~"
Without another word, she slowly drifts away while humming idly to herself, leaving Fluttershy back at square one. Even less than that, the pegasus is lost, alone, frightened, and now emotionally drained from what's happened in such a short amount of time.
Running through the options at her disposal, she comes to an unsettling conclusion. As much as the idea frightens her, she quickly decides that it would be in her best interest to follow her terrifying savior. As terrible as she seems, she at least wasn't immediately hostile as with her first encounter here. With this in mind, and a single self pitying sniffle, she lifts into the air to meekly follow behind the green and red hooman.
