Things Go Down Hill From There
Fluttershy Gets Eaten By A Cy-Bug
By: The Infinity Doctor
Fluttershy took a deep breath, the butter-yellow pegasus inhaling the sweet scent of the local flora permeating the air as she trotted merrily towards her destination. She usually couldn't find the courage to brave the Everfree- but, her friend Zecora had asked to come out on behalf of an animal that was in desperate need of medical attention. Never the one to deny an innoccent critter, she of course came as soon as she could, medical kit in hoof. Her ears swiveled atop her ears, flicking backward. Looking behind her, she found nothing, only the dirt path she'd taken, and the few flowers dotting the roadway- swaying in a small breeze that blew through the foliage. Her courage wavered, and she gulped, tasting the handle of her bag, which wasn't exactly dandelions and hay. Stopping a moment to rest, she set the bag down, and her flank hit the ground, her hooves tired from the trek.
"Oh my," she stated, wiping her forehead, causing a few strands of her long, pink mane to fall "it's very hot today, I hope Zecora won't mind if I stop for a short break."
The sun continued to bear its heat down upon her as she sat, enjoying the sounds of the forest. It felt so peaceful to just sit, even if it was the Everfree, any place was peaceful if you just took the time to sit and-
Her train of thought was halted as a low buzzing-sound filled the air, causing the mare's ears to swivel, trying to find the source of the noise. As she began to grow nervous, she hoped- dearly hoped, in fact- that it wasn't a changeling. She didn't hate the insectile-equines, oh goodness no, it was just that...well...they did try to take over Equestria, or...Canterlot, and then the rest of the country. She was naturally afraid of them, like everypony else, but...in her mind...who could really blame them? Sure their methods were unorthodox, but they needed food, if their queen was to be believed. But nopony had heard about the queen since the queen's demise, almost a year ago, at the wedding.
"H-Hello? Is-Is anypony th-there?" she asked timidly, calling into the heavy foliage of the forest.
The forest suddenly became deathly quiet- the mild breeze stopped blowing, the crickets and other small insects around her were suddenly mute, as if somepony had placed a silencing spell on the world. Nothing responded, nothing happened- just silence. Her terror grew, paranoia adding to the mix as her head swiveled, searching desperately for any signs of an ambush.
It came, in the form of what she could only assume to be a changeling, leaping out of the canopy, its bright green gossamer wings glowing as it bore down upon her. The mare shrieked, her kit forgotten as she took off at a gallop, away from the horrifying monster that had appeared before her. The changeling-esque creature roared, and dashed through the air, giving chase to its prey.
Fluttershy ran- she ran as fast as she could, she even managed to gain a little distance by using her wings. Her panicked breathing made her lungs burn, in addition to her hooves aching as they pounded against the dirt and grass beneath them. She ran further still, wanting nothing more than to be far, far, far away from the monster. The buzzing of its wings was fading, but she was still too close for comfort- if anything, the creature was beginning to catch up. She quickly glanced back to the monster chasing her, and squealed as she saw that it was right behind her. She galloped faster, utilizing her wings once more as she tried to increase her speed. Alas, it wasn't meant to be, as the butter-yellow pegasus tripped over a miniscule rock in the path. Her jaw hit the ground, forcing tears to drip from her eyes as the creature bore down on her, its jaw wide, revealing its many teeth inside its maw. It swallowed her whole, in one bite, they crying pegasus felt nothing.
Twilight Sparkle left the library, feeling confident she'd surely find her friend at her cottage bordering the Everfree. That was hours ago, she was now a hot mess, her usually flat mane sticking up. Her number one assistant, a certain dragon by the name of Spike, was doing his best to calm her. He tried everything from teas, to books on relaxing, even going so far as to offer to take her to the spa. Alas, fate had other plans, and he could only sit and listen to the panicked princess' ramblings, hoping she'd wear herself out.
"C'mon, Twilight," Spike tried to reason "sure it's the Everfree, but this is Fluttershy we're talking about! She's stared down dragons, what could be in there that she hasn't handled before?"
"That's just it, Spike," the purple princess stated, her usual lavender muzzle now scarlet "if she came across something, she could've handled it, and she'd be back by now- but- but because she's been gone for so long, she might've come across something dangerous! What if she trotted into a parasprite swarm? What if she got some of that Poison Joke on her again? What if-"
Her draconic assistant stopped her rambling, the young drake unable to take any more.
"Why don't you go and look for her then?" he suggested "Maybe you could use a tracking spell?"
The princess stopped, and thought a moment.
"That's...that's...a good idea..." she said, some of her mane resuming its original position.
She then proceeded to sweep her assistant/little brother figure into a hug, the dragon enveloped in a wave of sparkling, lavender magic.
"Thanks so much Spike! Take care of the library until I get back!" she called, galloping out of the library.
'Sometimes...I just don't know about her...' the drake sighed to himself, picking up a stack of books carelessly left out by his closest family member.
Fluttershy opened her eyes, surprising the mare as she blinked, wearily. A shiver ran down her spine as a warm breeze passed over her, alerting the pink-maned pegasus that she had feeling once more. It came as both a shock, and a relief, to know that the insect-like monster had, in fact, left her alone. The pegasus' mind grew puzzled soon after, wondering why it went through the trouble of chasing her down, and then not eating her. Of course, she knew better than to look a gift cragodile in the mouth, and accepted it with extreme thankfulness.
The winged pony soon became greatly confused, even more so than not a moment before. There were things popping up in her vision, she didn't think they were hallucinations, but they were alien to her, it was showing what the temperature was- and there was this red circle that kept wandering around, zooming in and out on certain things around the path. Her head hurt, she could feel a migraine coming- nothing made sense to her, what was going on? She felt fine, didn't she? Maybe it was a bit chilly for her...but...
She grit her teeth as a pain stabbed her, inside her head, and all over her body. Her hooves felt numb, pins and needles pricking them as she tried to move them. A horrible thought came to her- she could be paralyzed! How would she ever get out of the forest now? What if another one of the bug-creatures came, and actually did eat her?
The gentle pegasus began to weep, tears escaping her as she screwed her eyes shut, wishing that the world would just disappear, and leave her alone. She wished she couldn't feel, she wished she hadn't ever come into this Celestia-forsaken forest. She wished...she wished she could see her friends one last time- she wished she had professed her love to-
The snap of a twig, and her eyes shot open, the large circle in her vision picking out the Princess of Friendship herself.
Love.
Care.
Defend.
Twilight Sparkle couldn't believe her eyes- she obviously needed more sleep; yes, that was it, more sleep. She'd worried herself so much, that she must've been seeing things...that...that was the only logical explanation. She absolutely, positively, could not be seeing her friend's familiar head, sticking out of a long, cylindrical tube, that connected to a large, grotesque body that certainly wasn't her own. She watched as the gentle pegasus' eyes followed her every move as she grew closer, those ocean-blue orbs staring back at her with all their usual kindness and compassion. There was something else- but the princess couldn't put her hoof on it. The...the thing...was definitely insect in design- two large sets of gossamer wings, pulsing every so often with white energy, hung from a long, thorax and abdomen, the shell above colored pink, as the under carriage was tinted yellow. The pony's hooves were instead replaced with two long and spindly arms, each with long hands with slender fingers attached at the ends. Four sets of legs sprouted from the undercarriage of the thing- Fluttershy- they looked insectile, keeping with the rest of the body. The legs, and a smaller set under the thorax, just like the underside of the body, were yellow. Twilight felt her mouth try to curl into a frown as the legs twitched, laying useless as the mare-thing lay in the dirt- her kind face sullied with dirt and dust. It broke her heart to see her friend like this- it truly did.
"F-fluttershy..." she whispered to herself "wh-what...I...I'm so sorry..."
She began to weep, her wings dragging the ground as she crawled to her friend, whom was still watching her. Her muzzle touched to the base of her neck, and she wept harder, cursing herself.
"Fl-flutters...I'm...I'm so, so, so, sorry..."
No reaction was garnered from the insectile mare.
"...I-I-I sh-should've been faster...I...I..."
The mare's new arms clumsily wrapped around the princess, pulling her tighter as the purple mare continued to sob.
Twilight looked up, begging for forgiveness as her body unconsciously snuggled closer to the bug-pony. Fluttershy's ocean-blue orbs, as caring as ever, stared back into the princess' own lavender eyes, taking in all the mare had to say.
"I...I'll find...I'll find a way to ch-change you b-b-back...I- I- pr-promise." she stated, wiping her eyes as she tried to stand.
Fluttershy said nothing, only continuing to regard her presence with silence.
"Are you okay?" the princess asked "Are you going to be able to-"
The lavender mare was interrupted, as the arms grabbed her with amazing speed, and dragged her toward the body it was connected to. It happened in an instant- so quickly that Twilight didn't even have time to blink before she realized what was happening.
The usually-shy mare had her lips firmly pressed against her own, holding the princess firmly in place for a good minute. The new Fluttershy released the kiss, her muzzle scarlet as she dared not meet the gaze of the shocked princess she was holding.
"I- I'm so sorry..." Fluttershy whispered, tears beginning to fall as she released Twilight.
Twilight only stared into her friends eyes, never once realizing that maybe there was a small chance that her friend had feelings for her.
"How...how long...have you...u-um..."
"The very first day I met you." the bashful pegasus replied honestly, her face turning beet red once more "I thought you were cute...I-I- and then...then I actually got to know you, you're so smart...and beautiful..."
"Fluttershy...I- I- don't know what to say...wh-why don't we get you back to your cottage, and...and we can sort everything out from there?"
The timid pony looked down at the ground, and nodded, not meeting Twilight's gaze. The insect-like mare rose, shakily wobbling on her new legs. Her 'thorax' fell forward however, leaving the mare face-down in the dirt. Spitting out the bits of dust and rock, she used her hands, gently propelling herself forward a few feet at a time as her hind legs pushed from behind. She faltered on more than one occasion, but followed the purple princess all the same.
