fLuTtEr

Author: Annonymouse
MLP:FiM is property of Hasbro. This is a free fan-fiction, not to be sold or traded for any money, goods or services.
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WARNING: GRIMDARK. Contains graphic writing. Please do not read if you do not like gory violent stories concerning MLP. Contains murder, slaughter, vore and swearing (like this last one really matters, lol).
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fLuTtEr
eIgHt
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Carrot Top waited in anticipation for her dear pet parrot, Boxer, to be returned from Fluttershy's.

She figured it wouldn't be tonight, especially with the storm coming in.

“I hope Fluttershy is ok out there. She's going to be hit by this storm first...” She pranced nervously. “Maybe I should go check in on her.”

SCREEEK!

The sudden sound from outside made the orange maned mare nearly jump out of her skin. She looked out the window and saw the wind had really picked up. The tree outside her window was waving wildly, and a branch scraped against the window.

SCREEEK!

She jumped back in fright as the claw-like branch scraped the window.

“Note to self... move that tree a length or ten from the house.” She shuddered. The sound was frightening.

SCREEEK!

Her skin crawled at that sound.

BANG!

From the back of the house came a laud sound, and Carrot Top was now wishing she lived in town, away from clawing branches and whatever had just banged against the back of her house.

SCREEEK!

Carrot Top held in a scream. If the storm was going to be like this for most of the night, she KNEW she was not going to be getting any sleep.

SCREEEK! BANG!

This time, she dove behind her comfy sofa and quivered in fear.

Scritch.

What was that?

Scritch scritch.

SCREEEK!

Scritch scritch scritch.

She was not liking this storm at all. Not one bit. Carrot Top had not been here for the last huge storm a few years ago, and had never experienced a true Everfree storm before.

A sudden flash of blue light from outside followed by a deafening boom that shook the whole house.

Carrot Top was shaking worse then the house had.

SCREEEK! BANG!

Scritch scritch scritch scriiiiiiiiitch.

That was the back door.

Something was scratching at it furiously.

Carrot Top swallowed her fear. Well, as best she could. She emerged from her hiding place and started toward the back door.

It was shaking a little with each and every scritch and scratch.

Her nerves were more on end than her coat and mane. She reached the door and peaked out through the window.

Something moved out there.

CRACK!! BOOM!!

SCREEEK!!

She shrieked and bolted for her safe hiding place behind her sofa, bringing her sofa blanket with her. She cowered under it.

Click. Creeeeeeeeek.

That was the back door... opening.

(Oh Celestia help me...) She prayed for deliverance.

“Caaaarrot Tooop.” An odd, sweet voice echoed through the house.

The sounds of the storm picked up, now that the back door was open.

She heard a few creaks of the floorboards, coming closer and closer.

She peeked under the sofa and saw butter yellow hooves.

(Fluttershy?) She sat up, throwing the blanket off, relieved that it was a friendly face she would be seeing. “Fluttershy? I am so happy too see you.”

CRACK!!! BOOM!!! Blood red eyes. Fangs. Pain. Blood. Darkness...
...

The storm was over, and the sun was raising.

Ponies emerged from their homes to survey the damage. Many roofs would have to be repaired, as well as many windows and shutters.

No pony had been hurt, but it would take days, if not weeks, to repair everything.

Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were helping Rarity move the tree from her back yard. The entire thing had been blown over. Thankfully it had not hit Rarity's home.

“I was so frightened when I heard the tree coming down. If my Boutique had been hit...” She struck a dramatic pose, one hoof over her heart, and the other over her forehead.

“Ah know how ya feel Rare.” Applejack grinned. “Ah'm just glad th' storm didn't do much to th' apple trees. Barn roof's gonna need a lot ah repairs though. Ah swear them sheep almost shook right outta their wool coats.”

Pinkie Pie was picking up branches and placing them into a big pile. As she returned, she smiled. “Wow, that storm sure was a doozy. The Cakes are glad they had time to board up all the windows.”

Rarity nodded. “As ugly as they are...” She looked at her own boarded windows.

Rainbow Dash paced back and forth. “Hey guys? I'm worried about Fluttershy. I'm going to go check up on her, and her neighbours, ok?”

Applejack agreed with a nod and a 'shoo shoo' of her hooves. “We got this Sugar. You go check on out little friend. She's most likely still shaking under her bed.”

“Thanks.” Dash took off toward the edge of town.

The first house was Carrot Top's, then Fluttershy's, then Zecora's, deeper in the forest.

Landing outside Carrot Top's house, she saw the broken front window, a dead branch sticking through it.

Dash sighed and knocked on the front door.

No answer.

She tried the door but it was locked.

She knocked again, but still no answer.

Dash peeked through the broken window and saw the back door was open. She headed around the back, expecting to see Carrot Top fretting over her carrot garden.

She wasn't there. Her garden was not too bad looking, with large, fresh and crunchy carrots growing in perfect rows. Dash loved her carrots. They were the best after all.

Dash approached the door and stopped.

Scratch marks covered the door. Thin, deep scratches.

Dash entered carefully, her hooves splashing in puddles of water on the floor.

“Carrot Top?” She called out. “Are you there?” Dash started looking around the single floor house.

Carrot Top was nowhere to be found.

“Maybe her root cellar. She might have hidden down there.” She exited quickly and found the door. A large branch was covering it.

Sighing with relief, she heaved the heavy branch off the door and threw it open. “Hey Carrot Top? You down there?”

Silence.

“Carrot Top?” Dash crept down the ramp and entered the room. Bushels and bushels of carrots, as well as some other root vegetables, were neatly stacked up in perfect order.

Dash searched the whole place, but no Carrot Top. No sigh of her at all.

She rushed back into the house and started searching rather than looking around.

Behind the sofa, she saw an orange and red blanket.

“What the? Carrot Top hates red...” She was about to pick up the blanket when she smelled it.

Blood.

Dash's blood ran cold at that moment.

She carefully lifted the blanket, almost expecting to see... something.

There was no body parts.

Dash shuddered still. Why was there blood in Carrot Top's home? Worse yet...

Where was Carrot Top.
...

“FLUTTERSHY!!!” Dash didn't stop to knock on the front door, which was wide open.

Wide open?

Like Carrot Top's back door?

Dash felt sick as she rushed inside.

The back door was open as well.

There was a rather unpleasant smell in the room, one Dash recognized.

Animal poop.

Dash then heard humming from out the back door. She rushed outside and saw Fluttershy washing some blankets.

“Fluttershy. Oh Celestia, I'm so glad you're safe.”

Fluttershy turned and smiled. “Oh hello Dashie. That was a really scary storm. All my animals were so scared they... um...”

“Uh, yea... I smelled it...” She looked around. “Have you seen Carrot Top? I was... Oh Celestia... I was just at her place...” Dash's legs started shaking. Fluttershy was safe... but some THING... Something had entered her home.

“Dashie? What's wrong? I saw Carrot Top yesterday. She brought over her pet parrot, Boxer. He hurt his wing.”

“Oh Fluttershy...” Dash hugged her and started crying. “I... I... There was... was... blood... So much blood.”

Fluttershy stiffened. “Blood? At Carrot Tops?” She hugged Dash tight. “Maybe... maybe it was tomato juice?”

“It was blood. Fluttershy... I... I think she might be hurt... or worse.” She though about that Unicorn skeleton that was locked up in the clinic. She thought about Puddle Jumper. He had never been found.

Fluttershy pushed away and started galloping as fast as she could toward Carrot Top's. Outside, she showed fear and worry.

Inside, she was giggling with glee. (Carrot Top is still alive Dashie. You don't have to worry, just yet.) She finally stopped at the house, Dash right beside her. “Fluttershy, please, you don't want to go in there.”

Fluttershy tried the front door, but it was locked. She looked through the window and saw the back door.

Dash grabbed her and tried to pull her back. “Please... don't go in there.”

Fluttershy was 'not as strong' as Rainbow Dash and stopped trying to run after a few seconds. “P... Please Dashie? She's my neighbour... I didn't know her too well, but I love her carrots.”

Dash shook her head. “No... We have to call the guard... They'll know what to do.”

Fluttershy nodded softly. With that, the pair headed back toward Ponyville.
...

Carrousel Boutique.

Rarity and Applejack stared at Dash.

“Blood?” Rarity looked ill.

“Ya'll sure it was blood?”

“Yes I'm sure.” Dash scowled. “I've crashed and bled enough times to know that smell. We have to send a letter to Princess Celestia requesting an investigation team.”

“Alright Sugarcube. Let's go talk to Spike.”

Pinkie Pie just sat there, her mane fallen strait at the news. Her friend Carrot Top was... missing? She always loved making carrot cake with the carrot and parrot obsessed pony.

She hoped that her friend was still alright... not like two more friends of hers, who had recently lost their little colt...

She saw her friends looking aback at her.

“Ya'll coming Sugarcube?”

Pinkie Pie nodded and followed, just walking, not trotting, and definitely not bouncing.

Dash walked next to Pinkie. “You were friends, you and Carrot Top, right?”

Pinkie Pie nodded. “We made the best carrot cake when we worked together. She was always fun to talk too. I really liked Boxer.”

Dash hung her head and stretched a wing across Pinkie's back, pulling her close. “There wasn't a whole lot of blood, but...” She thought about those triple claw scratch marks on the door. Whatever had done that had some very sharp claws.

Fluttershy walked along behind her friends. (Carrot Top is still alive. She's just... trapped. If it wasn't for that storm last night, I would have had a fun little hunt. Soon, my beautiful baby will be able to join in on the hunts too.)

“Fluttershy?”

Rarity had stopped and looked back. She looked at the strange expression on Fluttershy's face. It was not saddened, but almost hardened. Her eyes were narrowed and unfocused.

Fluttershy glanced up at Rarity, who took a slight step back.

The caught everypony's attention. They all turned and looked at Fluttershy.

She glanced at them all. “This is terrible... First Puddle Jumper, then that mysterious Unicorn skeleton... There's been rumors of other ponies disappearing as well. Now Carrot Top. What's going on?” (Oh, I know what's going on my friends. Don't worry, when my baby is big and strong enough, we'll just move away. Who knows, you might find 'Fluttershy's' remains' one day.) “Let's go talk to Spike.”
...

Carrot Top knew she was awake.

The pain in her shoulder, ribs and flanks told her that.

Still, she couldn't see anything. From what she could feel, she was surrounded by rock on all sides, and under her hooves as well. Looking up revealed no light.

She remembered waking up, being carried high in the sky by a monstrous pony creature. Being dropped and falling through the trees and branches, crashing into a thick (thankfully soft) bush.

She had tried to run, but was caught by the monster. It stung her in her already bleeding shoulder before releasing her, allowing her to run.

The monster kept chasing her, nipping at her heels the whole time, sometimes scratching her flanks with those sharp, slicing claws. If she ever escaped from this, her cutie mark would stand for diced carrots from how on.

But as she ran, she started to feel stiff, but her pain and burning lungs and muscles kept torturing her. Finally she felt all ability to move fade and she fell to the ground, limp, bleeding, and in pain.

The monster emerged from the shadows, shifting, changing into something more impossible than the monster itself.

Fluttershy.

She was then dragged through the forest, none to gently, and finally thrown into a deep, stone hole. Fluttershy smiled cutely before moving a huge slab of stone over the entrance.

Even if Carrot Top could climb to he top, it would benearly impossible for her to move that thing.

Once she could move, Carrot Top lay down carefully and started licking her wounded flanks. Somehow, she doubted she would be surviving for long unless she could escape.
...

Twilight closed the latest book she had been reading. “Physiology of the Alicorn... So, they're not natural beings... but... Like me. Once Unicorns with great magical strength. They mastered Necromancy and used their magic over the dead to alter their own bodies, slowly over decades.” She grinned, finally understanding why Princess Celestia had agreed to her entering these halls. These are holy halls of learning.

“Silence Grave.”

The undead fusion of pony bones stepped forward.

“Find me some book on attaching parts of the dead onto the living. Take your time.”

She reached for the next book with her black hoof. She had regained all feeling in it after some time, but was amused that the fur remained black up the length of the cannon.

Opening the book, she checked over a single spell she had seen weeks ago, one she didn't understand then, but now did.

“Magic Bolt... a 'basic' attack spell. Interesting.” She grinned and scribed the spell into one of her books. Her supply of ink had run out over a week ago, so now she simply pricked herself and wrote her writings in her own blood.

“So much more to learn... and I'm running out of time.”
...

Spike sent off the letter to Princess Celestia.

“Well, it's off. She should be receiving it any second now.” Spike looked at his five friends. “I really miss Twilight. Without her to make messes, I have nothing to do but fetch books for the ponies who come in.”

Rarity hugged Spike and he hugged her back. “She'll be home soon. She was only to be gone for three months... though I still cannot understand why.”

Spike sniffled and backed away from Rarity, feeling a belch coming. With a green flame, a scroll appeared. Spike snatched it and opened it.

“Dear Spike.”

“I appreciate your bringing this to my attention. I will send an investigation team immediately to meet you at the library. You are to give them your full support.”

“Concerning Twilight, her preparations are nearly complete. She will be rejoining you by the end of the month.”

“With love, Princess Celestia of Equestria.”

Spike lowered the scroll. “At the end of the month... that's only a couple more weeks, right?”

He received nods from three of the ponies.

Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie seemed to both be lost in though.

“Fluttershy?” Spike stepped forward. “I'm sorry to say this, but I don't like you living so close to the Everfree.”

“I... I'm fine. I have all my animal friends. They'd warn me if any danger was coming.”

“Are you sure? You can stay here till Twi gets back.”

“I couldn't trouble you like that. I can't keep my animals here.”

“Ah hate to argue Fluttershy, but Spike's got a good point. Last thing we wanna find is ya'll hurt, or worse.”

Dash hugged Fluttershy. “You can stay with me.”

“I... But what about my animals?”

“You can keep all the birds up at my place. Your other fur balls can stay at my cabin.”

“You have a cabin?” Rarity looked surprised.

“Yea. It's my home away from home. I get hurt every now and then and can't fl for a couple weeks. Where do you think I stay?”

Applejack shrugged. “Makes sense.”

“I... I can stay in the cabin?”

“I'd rather you stay up at my place with me. I know you don't like heights. Still, I'd feel better knowing you'd be safe.”

Fluttershy nodded meekly. “Well, ok. I'll try to stay out of your way.”

“Oh come on. You're no bother. We've been friends for so long you may as well call us sisters.”

Fluttershy honestly blushed. (S... sisters? Oh Dashie... I never knew you felt that way about me.) “Thank you Dashie.”

“Hey, it's no biggy. I know we don't always see eye to eye, but that don't mean nothing when it comes to keeping our cute little Fluttershy safe.”

“Then it's settled.” Applejack felt better. “Ya'll be stayin' with RD till we can figure this whole mess out.”

Rarity felt better as well. “Only two more weeks and Twilight will be back. I sure hope she's learned what she needs to have learned.”

“M... Me too.” Fluttershy offered a weak smile. (Not good... If I'm forced to stay with Dashie, what will I do about taking care of my baby? Blackthorn still needs time to finish growing, and I need to teach him how to hunt. This is not good at all...)

Fluttershy was unsure what to do now. Hopefully by the time he got hungry again, he could find where Carrot Top was being 'stored'. She would most likely have died by then, a dark, lonely lingering death. Blood loss? Thirst? Hunger? Despair? Regardless, her death would be akin to a fine marinade.
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To Be Continued...