The Black Eyes of the Nightmare

There comes a time in life when one is challenged to go past their limits. One would have to put all of his or her doubts and fears behind and move on. Any living being has their strengths and weaknesses, but this is not the right way to judge. The right way is to judge one for how they cope with what they have.

Fluttershy never felt her wings to feel so shaky before. She knows she's timid, but this has to be the worst. She's alone, with none of her friends to back her up, heading toward the demon of the Everfree Forest. Compared to previous experiences, this is the hardest decision Fluttershy ever made. None of her dear friends motivated her, nudged her, or persuaded her to do it, unlike that one time they had to deal with the dragon that was smoking up Ponyville. This is her own decision.

Fluttershy's fear is a worn-out barrier that is getting old and rusty. It blocked her too many times in the past. It's bound to crack from the effects of corrosion. Yes, she is afraid of the Moon Fox, but something else besides fearing her is in her mind. Princess Celestia despises the Moon Fox for being beyond her control and willing to do whatever she pleases. In a way, she's above the law. Princess Luna dislikes the Moon Fox because she stole her duty of controlling the Moon. Fluttershy's friends hate the Moon Fox because she threatened the destruction of Ponyville, if not Equestria. But Fluttershy. She can't hate this beast of the night. The Moon Fox is a creature of the Everfree Forest. That's as far as everypony knows at the moment, and Fluttershy has been known to have a specialty for animals. Her fear is overwhelmed by a sense of curiosity and love, but how could one love the majestic, yet deadly Moon Fox.

To Fluttershy, she is like a hundred dragons combined. That is her way of measuring her potential as a monster. Regardless of how scary the Moon Fox is to her, she tosses aside Luna's words of advice and keeps flying under the trees. Fluttershy is worried that flying out in the open will give her away easily. She has nothing but the sunlight peeking into the leaves as a source of light. Night would be an untrustworthy time to search for the Moon Fox.

Where is she? thinks Fluttershy. She looks around for any sign of blue, but she only glimpses of blue sky above the trees. She keeps searching for those nightmarish black eyes. The same that stared right into Rainbow Dash, who was nearly squeezed to death. Fluttershy wants the horrible memory go away. The thought of nearly losing a friend sickens her deeply.

Like in their last trip, the forest is still calm. To Fluttershy, it's a sign that the Moon Fox is close. She's nearing the area where they met, but stops, hovering in place. She starts to hyperventilate, making every short breath more straining. Fluttershy knows she's at the gate of the lair. Beyond this point, she can't turn around. She must do what she came for. With that, she gulps and regains a determined look in her sparkling, teal eyes. Her wings take her inches, then feet, into the scene of the monster.

Fluttershy looks around, but no sign of the Moon Fox. She spots the tree branch where her friends first saw her, but she's not there. She scans for anything extraordinary, and notices an odd-looking tree placed at the center of the field. Fluttershy hovers over to that tree and notices that it's shaped into a circular arch. Through further examination, she figures out that it's actually two trees bent together. There's branches scattered on the floor, and bowls full of colorful paste close to the tree arch. Oh my. What is she doing? thinks Fluttershy, now more confused than afraid.

Suddenly, her yellow ears pick up a faint noise. She snaps to where it came from and quietly hovers toward it. It leads back into the thick forest. Fluttershy catches glimpses of a body of water, and something else. It's blue like the water, but not as calm. She heard snoring. The Moon Fox is sleeping in a hot spring, letting her blue fur soak into the pleasant heat of the water.

Fluttershy's eyes widen. Her heart is pounding. She finds herself blessed to find the beast asleep. It feels strange for her to see the mighty Moon Fox is such a calm state. Moon Fox is neck-deep in the water, and Fluttershy notices that she has excess on the back of her head that reaches down to her back. It resembles long hair, but it's the same color as her blue fur. She has a mane like a lion, like a pony's. Fluttershy sees that mane floating on the surface of the water, flowing through the small currents. It's shining brightly, like Celestia's sun. The fox's seven tails spread from the spring and rest on the ground. Those monstrous snakes. Fluttershy turns to left and notices the Moon Fox's black overcoat and white robes hanging over a tree branch. This discomforts her because she realizes that Moon Fox is naked.

She takes a few, quiet steps back, but then realizes that the Moon Fox is too deep in the water for her to see her body. Oh, my, she thinks. Fluttershy knows it's a violation of privacy, but she returns her view to the sleeping fox. Her eyes are closed, obviously. Fluttershy knows what's behind those eyes. It's a death stare to her, and she refuses to see them pointed at her. They also mean cowardice to her. The eyes are being hidden. Fluttershy turns around, annoyed by the sight of the covered eyes, and flies away.

Maybe I'll try again tomorrow, thinks Fluttershy, dissapointed. She wants to respect the Moon Fox's privacy, but she's not in the mood to wake her up. Even if she tries in the sweetest way possible, the reaction would not be pretty. Suddenly, Fluttershy feels something squeezing her. She panics, making it even harder for her to breathe. She looks down and sees a blue foxtail wrapping around her. Fluttershy flaps her wings as hard as she can, but it's no use. The tail yanks her back to the spring and turns her around to an unpleasant-looking Moon Fox.

"Didn't I make myself clear?" she asks, hatefully. Fluttershy can't even find the strength to answer to her voice. She gives up trying to break free. If Rainbow Dash couldn't get out, how could she?

"Y-yes.." stammers Fluttershy.

"I remember you too well. You're one of the ponies who tried to kill me using those weird jewels."

Kill. This word echoes in Fluttershy's mind. Through her intense heart rate and overwhelming panic, she manifests the word. She never thought of it. Nightmare Moon was turned good, Discord was turned to stone, but what would happen to the Moon Fox if the Elements of Harmony worked? A stone imprisonment probably wouldn't contain her, and she doesn't seem possessed or corrupted. It's possible the Elements could have killed the Moon Fox. Kill. Kill. Kill...

This word is a stab in the head to Fluttershy, and she begins to cry. It's calm, but it sounds like it's going to get wild. The Moon Fox doesn't show any sign of sympathy toward Fluttershy and her infamous tears. "Pony, there's no reason to cry," she says blankly. The tail's grip loosens slightly, so it only carries holds Fluttershy gently enough not to choke her. Fluttershy is too busy crying to even consider escaping.

"I'm sorry!" sobs Fluttershy. This surprises the Moon Fox. "Please! Don't kill me!"

"Sorry? For what?"

Fluttershy wipes her tears away with one of her hooves. It's futile. The tears keep flowing like a river. "For not giving you a chance."

"The purple one said that you were following orders. Right?" Fluttershy nods slowly. "What would you do?"

"I would try to show nothing but kindness..."

"You should be the ruler," jokes Moon Fox, but she maintains a straight face. "And I do admit I was a little bit uncooperative the other day."

Fluttershy stops crying. "We were only curious, Moon Fox. Everypony was spreading rumors about you."

"Ah, mass hysteria. I remember how that went." Moon Fox drifts away into deep though, but snaps back into reality. "The spring is nice," she suggests.

"Oh, no. I shouldn't be here when you're undressed," answers Fluttershy innocently. "I'd leave if you would let go of me and wait for when you're done, if you don't mind..."

"We're both girls. Lighten up." The Moon Fox's tail lets go of Fluttershy, making her drop into the hot spring. Fluttershy sinks, letting her body soak all of the warm water. She emerges with a deep breath. She feels intoxicated by warm feeling of the water, and has an immense urge of laziness. She slowly sinks down to the point the water lines her neck.

"I guess it's alright," says Fluttershy, droopily.

"So what's your name?"

"Fluttershy." Fluttershy notices that Moon Fox's eyeballs are not black like they were at night. "Your eyes. They changed."

"Yeah, they change to white during the day. So, Fluttershy, I didn't really mean to destroy your town."

Fluttershy's eyes widen. So much for feeling lazy. "Then why did you threaten us like that?"

"I had a lot on my mind. I was in a really bad mood when you guys showed up. Trying to kill me made it even worse. I wanted to be alone, but I wasn't in the mood to hurt anyone. So yeah, sorry."

"You almost killed Rainbow Dash."

"The blue one? She was asking for it. Cocky bitch, I'd say. She's lucky to have you guys to vouch for her," says Moon Fox in an annoyed tone.

"Why are you even here?" Fluttershy knows she may have made a mistake. She knows how the Moon Fox gets when asking such questions. The Moon Fox's eyes ponder at the innocent-looking pony. Fluttershy's eyes are like a book to her. She can read exactly what she's thinking.

"Fluttershy, I don't feel comfortable answering that. I am here, but that shouldn't be a bad thing."

"Everypony was afraid that you were a force of darkness. A force of chaos."

"Everypony? Don't you mean everyone?" asks the Moon Fox, confused.

"No."

"Oh God, I'm in a pony world..." mutters the Moon Fox.

"Don't you mean 'Celestia'?"

"Look. Let's just not walk into that wildfire topic. I'm not a dark force, but that doesn't mean I'm a good one, either. I admit my appearance is dark, but this whole thing with people fearing me is just recurring news."

The Moon Fox gets up, which makes Fluttershy's eyes widen. She leaves the spring and heads to where she hung her clothes. Her seven tails are dragged behind her. Fluttershy is seeing what the robes covered. It's the bare body of a woman, covered in blue, wet fur. She never saw a human being, nor considered their existence. She doesn't even how one looks like, so the Moon Fox's body feels like a mystery to her. The bipedalism is strange though. Moon Fox's legs are like a dog's hind legs bent up, and they somehow work as human legs. Fluttershy gets up and out of the spring, shaking away the water dripping through her fur. Moon Fox does the same, and she puts her clothes on.

"I'm assuming you never saw a body like this," says the Moon Fox. "You ponies probably never saw a human being."

"I...haven't," answers Fluttershy nervously. "They actually exist?"

Moon Fox nods. "I have some work to do, so it's best if you went home."

Fluttershy starts heading back home, but turns around when nearly invisible through the leaves. "Um, can I come back?" she asks.

The Moon Fox is speechless. With all the mass panic she's causing, this is a rare question to her. "Why not," she responds while shrugging her shoulders. Fluttershy smiles and leaves the Moon Fox alone. Moon Fox catches a glimpse of Fluttershy flying away with a cute smile, and it makes her smile a little. But it's only brief. She wonders about what Fluttershy said. About the princess.

"Celestia..." says the Moon Fox slowly. Her tone is full of curiosity. She starts hovering over the trees of the Everfree Forest and locates the palace at Canterlot. You're safe for now, Celestia, but we'll meet soon, she thinks in a exhilarating, yet devious tone.