Nyctophobia
Written By: Cameron
Even in the darkest of places, there has to be light.
I was walking around the market, looking for more bird seeds I can give to my little birdies. I was taking my normal route passed all the crowded areas and went straight to a pony named, Buzzy. Buzzy, is a nice pony, he says sweet things. I stopped in front of his stand, with a broad smile on my face. He looked up at me-from whatever he was doing-and smiled. "Hello, Fluttershy," he greeted.
"Hi, Buzzy," I replied.
"How may I help you, dear?" He asked.
"I need some more birds seeds for my little birdies back at the cottage."
"Of course." He turns around and starts rummaging through some stuff that I couldn't make out. Then, he pops a big bag of bird seeder onto the counter. "Here you are. Four bits."
"Four bits? Wasn't it eight last time?" I ask as I put four bits on the counter.
"Fifty percent off sale today. I have a lot of food that needs gettin' rid of. So until I get rid of majority of this food, it stays at fifty percent." He explained to me.
"Oh. Okay." I pick up the bag with no problem and lay it on my back. "Thank you very much, Buzzy. I'll see you next time." I say as I walk away from his stand.
"Goodbye, Fluttershy, See you next time."
On my way back to the cottage, I ran into Rainbow Dash. She swoops low and very close to me, causing me to jump and drop my bag. I look up at her and replace my fear with a warm welcoming smile. "Hello, Dash," I say.
"Hey, Flutters. What's up?" She replied.
I measly say, "oh, I just bought some more bird seeds, nothing much."
"Sounds neat. Hey, do you wanna stop by AJ's real quick? She found a whole entire barrel of cider and decided to give it to me, but I figure I'd like to have a best friend to share it with." She lands right in front of me and gives off a sheepish smile. "And so somepony can make sure I get home safely because I may have one too many cups to drink."
I giggle at the statement. It was true, Dash did drink a lot whenever she got her hooves on cider. Well, Rainbow Dash does need somepony to make sure she gets home safe. I am the only pegasi friend she has, besides Twilight. But I think Rainbow Dash wants to go home with somepony who won't give her a lecture. "I'll be more than happy to," I reply.
"Great. I'll come by and pick you up tonight." As she says that, she flies off very rapidly.
I look at the ground and pick up my bag of bird seeds. Luckily, the bag didn't rip. I continue the rest of my journey back to my cottage. Once I got home, I opened up the bag of bird seed and feed all the little birds that fly around my house. Once I am done with my chore, I wait patiently for Rainbow Dash to pick me up so we can be on our way. I sit down on the couch with a book open, I read while I wait.
*KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK*
That must be Rainbow Dash. I place my bookmark in my book and gently lay it down on the coffee table in the front of the couch. I get up and go answer the door to see nopony. Strange. I could've sworn somepony knocked on the door. I look around my front yard and still see nopony. I hear a frightened squeak behind me and I quickly turn around to see all my woodland friends all cowering in a corner of the living room.
"What's the matter?" I ask them.
Their eyes were wide and they were holding each other tightly. I take a step forward and feel something damp wrap around my muzzle. I scream, but it is muffled. I breathe in a strange scent that I have never smelled before and my eyes start to get heavier and heavier. Soon, my eyes shut and I fall asleep.
I slowly flicker my eyes open and see lights flickering on and off, above me. It was hard to tell where exactly I was, but if I’m to make a guess, I’d say I was in a dark room and had no idea where in tartarus I’m at. Although, this room does-in a way-give off some familiarity. Even though I’m one-hundred percent sure I’ve never been here before, something tells me I have. I slowly get up to my hooves from the hard floor that I must’ve passed out on-even if I don't remember passing out on it, I must've. I feel hazy. I want to throw up, but my stomach feels empty.
Did me and Dash go out to AJ's? She really does drink a lot, whenever she gets her hooves on cider. Maybe I did too. No, wait. Applejack wouldn't let us go by ourselves drunk. I slowly stand up on my hooves, still feeling lightheaded. As I start to look around the room, I notice a faint smell of something that stands out from this room. I spot a white bottle standing on top of an old desk. I walk up to the old furniture and notice that there were bold black letters that read: CHLOROFORM.
Chloroform? Why was there chloroform in-what appears to be-an abandoned room. Did I drink this? No, an inner voice told me. It’s too dangerous to induce chloroform. It’s safer to come in contact by smelling it. “How is this shit safe in the first place?” I ask myself. No. I’m not going to do this. I’m not going to argue with myself again. I gotta find out where I am and how I got here. That’s what I have to do.
I look around the room. Wallpaper was hanging off of the walls. Odd. They seem more like something has been scratching instead of it naturally coming off. I take a step forward and hear a loud cracking noise. I look down on the floor and notice that I stepped on a picture frame. I kneel down and pick up the picture out the frame, for a better look.
The picture had three people in it: a young filly-what looks like, the age of nine-is standing in front of two adults. Each member in the photo having a smile on their face. Though, the mare in the picture is very familiar. Her smile filled my heart up with a feeling that made me feel safe. Like I can tell her anything. Her mane was similar to mine and her coat was sky blue.
“I know that mare,” I say. “That’s my mother.” I look at the Stallion in the photo. “That’s my father.” Finally, I look at the young filly in the picture. “That’s me.”
But why is there a picture of my family here? I tuck the photo underneath my wing and look back up at the wall. I walk up to the wall and place my hoof on it. I trace the outlines of the weird marks. Odd. The surface of the wall feels like something clawed at it, instead of being torn.
*BANG*
I jump and squeak at the loud noise that echoes through the empty room. I turn my head in every direction, until my eyes fell upon a door with holes in it. The holes seemed more like multiple peepholes instead of something being bashed through the door. I walk up the door and lean my ear against it, my inner voice screaming to run the entire way. Something was moving on the other side. I could hear it clawing at the wall. Gotta hide! My instincts yelled. I looked back at the room. An old dresser stood on the other side of the room. Its doors were wide open and a few jackets were hanging on the rack. I turn my head back towards the door. Hoping that it's nothing-I look out of one of the many peepholes, to see what was outside the door.
As soon as I looked out the hole, a claw started attacking the door. I fall back with a yelp and stumble onto the floor. I quickly crawl back, in fear. Whatever was outside the door, it wanted in. The scratching noises soon became pounding noises. It sounded like the creature was-literally-throwing itself into the door.
My back hits something hard. I turn around and notice that I bumped into the dresser. I quickly scramble to my hooves and get inside of the dresser. It may not be the best hiding spot, but it’s all there is. Whatever is keeping me away from what’s chasing me, it’s fine by me. I cover my face behind my mane and close my eyes tight, my ears pinned against my skull.
A loud noise of wood being snapped intensely follows through the empty room. I curl myself up and start to hope it doesn’t find me. My breathing gets harder and I could hear footsteps getting closer to the dresser. I could hear my heart beating faster and faster, with each step the thing took, but it took odd steps. Whatever was on the other side of the dresser must have two legs instead of four. Some bears walk like that, but it is definitely not a bear. The steps get louder and louder and then silence. I peek my head out of my mane.
It must’ve gone away. The inner voice told me.
No. Something must’ve happened. Whatever it was, it had me. Predators never leave their prey when they have it trapped. It was highly unlikely for it to happen. Could it be possible that it had gone away? Did I have one of those highly unlikely chances? Only one way to find out.
I slowly push the door open. My heart racing as the door let out a creaking noise. I cautiously poke my head out of the dresser and look around the room.
Nothing.
That was a good sign. I slowly step out of the dresser and let out a sigh of relief. I look at the doorway and witness the damage that the thing had caused. The door was shattered into big pieces of wood on the floor. The doorknob was barely clinging onto the severely damaged wood. I move out towards the hall and see many claw marks that led from the doorway to-what seems to be-the stairs.
I approach the stairs with caution. Knowing that the thing could be anywhere. As I walked down the hallway, I noticed many photos were decorating the walls. Kinda like my home…...Could it be? Could this place be my house? I stopped in the hallway, at that thought. I turned my head, to look over my shoulder.
“It couldn’t be. I don’t remember that room,” I told myself. I looked at the wall of the hallway. The color of the wall was blue. I started to look at the photos. They all seemed to be the same photo that I had tucked under my wing. I furrow my brows, at one photo.
I mutter, “the hell?”
One photo had a picture of a brown stallion with a jet black mane in a white labcoat with a cage in the background. A strange thing was sticking out of the cage. I think it's a hoof, but it isn't an ordinary hoof, it had five little claws. Just like the same claws I saw at through the holes from earlier.
“What the hell is it?”
A horrible shriek echoes through the hallways. My breathing stops and I could feel a lump in my throat. I slowly look to my left and hear the strange steps coming down the hallway. Out of instinct, I turn to my right and start running down the stairs. After about four steps, I trip down the rest of the stairs.
I yelp and hit the bottom of the steps with a loud thud. A wave of pain rushes through my body. I groan in displeasure, as the pain overwhelms my body. I slowly stand up and look up the stairs. A hissing noise comes from the top of the stairs and I look up. My jaw drops. The thing was at the top of the stairs. It stood on two legs and had two arms. The face had a wicked grin. No lips, just teeth. Not normal teeth like a pony's teeth, no, the teeth were more sharp edged-like a cat’s teeth, but much larger. It was very skinny. Its eyes were black with a white dot in the center as a pupil. Its nose seemed like it was caved in. Its ears were pinned against its head. Blood was dripping out of the corners of its mouth. It looked down at me, blank faced.
I tried to move, but I couldn’t. I kept on staring at the thing that was looking down at me. My body felt tense. I tried to swallow the lump in my throat, but it didn’t go away. I could feel beads of sweat forming on the top of my forehead. I stared into its soulless eyes. It looked back at me.
Out of nowhere, it screamed at me, like a banshee. Somehow, that scream got my system going again. I started to run away from the stairs and through-what appeared to be-the living room. I spread my wings and flap hard enough to hop over the couch that got in my way and continued my way into the kitchen.
The thing jumped from the top of the stairs and landed at the bottom, still screaming at me. I opened and-immediately-slam the kitchen door. I start to open through drawers, hoping to find something to defend myself with. No luck; there was no silverware! All there was in the drawers were more photos of the thing and rotten fruits. I start to panic.
What am I going to do?! I mentally yell.
The kitchen door started to pound. The thing was at the door. It was coming in, one way or another. I back up against the kitchen counter. I sit down, tuck my legs in, and duck my head in between my hooves. The pounding continued, as tears start to flow through my cheeks.
This is it, I said, I’m going to die.
The door breaks down. My body tenses up. I could hear the thing breathing. Footsteps started to grow louder and louder. Then, they stopped. I felt something breathing against the top of my head. Then, the thing grabs my head with its hands and slowly lifts my muzzle up to meet its gaze.
I looked into the dark eyes it had. My heart was pounding very fast. I wondered if it could hear my heart. Tears were stained to my cheeks. Its grin was still plastered on its face. The kitchen lights started to flicker on and off. The creature didn’t bother to look up. It kept its gaze on mine, as I did the same.
Out of nowhere, it started to scream. I jump at the creatures sudden action. My head hitting the kitchen counter. I stand up to see it raise its left claw and slash at my throat. I grab my throat, trying to stop the blood from flowing, but it was useless. After it slashed my throat, it started to claw at my legs. I fall onto the floor. The creature stops. Blood spews from my mouth. It leans its face close to my muzzle.
The room starts to get dark, as I close my eyes. I let out my last breath and drift off to a forever enduring and endless sleep in eternal blackness. It’s funny. I always had nyctophobia. Now, I had to live with my fear, forever.
Rainbow Dash was walking through the market with saddlebags strapped onto her back. They were both open and they carried numerous amounts of papers in them. She frantically trotted up to a random stallion and held a piece of paper close enough for him to see. "Excuse me, sir. Have you seen this mare. She disappeared a couple days ago and me and my friends have been looking for her since." She said.
The stallion examined the paper. The paper had a picture of Fluttershy with a small description under the picture that read: Mare gone missing. Last seen was between 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm. Only evidence found at the crime scene was a damp rag and all animals that lived at the cottage brutally slaughtered.
He looked up at her with a sad look on his face. "I'm sorry," he replied. "But I haven't." He takes the paper out of her hoof and places it in his saddlebags. "I'll make sure to keep an eye out."
The stallion walks away and Rainbow Dash immediately runs up to the next pony that was about to pass by. "Excuse me, ma'am. Have you seen this mare?"
THE END
Written By: Cameron
Nyctophobia is the irrational fear of the dark.
Author's Note
I hope you enjoyed this little story I wrote. I haven't posted anything in awhile so I decided to put this up. I am currently working on a couple of projects, but I hope this will make everyone sure that I haven't given up on writing. 
Have a good day or night and don't forget to give me your opinion!
