The Visitor.

The moment Fluttershy stepped of the train, she immediatly felt safe seeing a familiar face. There, waiting for her next to the Hansom Cab was Macintosh Smith, butler and coach runner at Everfree Mansion. He was the son of the old butler, and had taken his fathers place only three years earlier. The Smiths had been in Fluttershy’s familys sold for generations, and the tradition withheld, with Macintoshs younger sisters Applejack being the mansions chef, and Applebloom being her mothers, and from now on, Fluttershy’s Chambermaid.

But closest to her heart was Nana. Nana was Macintoshs grandmother, and she had been the nanny of both her mother and Fluttershy herself. Now she was pretty old, and she stayed in the house more as a gesture of gratitude for her services, rather then actually doing work. But Fluttershy loved her almost as much as her mother, and to come home without Nana being there just felt wrong.

Macintosh greeted her in his normal, down-to-earth way.

“Evening, miss Fluttershy. Yer wanna head home straight away?”

“Yes, Macintosh, I would prefer that.”

“Alright then, miss. Just get up and we’ll be there in no time.”

Macintosh put on the harness and trotted away. Soon they had left the small town of Ponyville, and were passing through the woods. The Everfree forest was a pretty large forest, spreading itself over nearly 900 acres. Ponyville was placed almost in the middle of the forest, at the bank of the River Gleeful. And on the other side of the river,  with its towers rising over both the forest and Ponyville like four gigantic watchmen, was the Everfree Mansion. The family estate of the Le Clairvauxs, and Fluttershys home.

The mansion was located only a few miles from Ponyville, but that was if you draw a straight line on a map. The road to get there was at least the double, to overcome the difference in level, and even though Macintosh was strong and fast, it took almost an hour to get there. Not that the road was boring, it was quite a picturesque journey. Following the road almost the whole way was a small stream, that on at least three occasions switched side of the road. The bridges that crossed the stream were old, built in stone and covered with moss.  After one third of the route from Ponyville, the stream widened into a small pond, used by the foals of the town for bathing and fishing. Fluttershy remembered that her father enjoyed to take a sit near the bridge to watch the young ponies play. Made him feel less old, he used to say. when two thirds of the route was passed, the Ponyville water mill was placed on the left side of the road. From Ponyville to here, the road had been in the state of constant ascention, and Fluttershy could hear Macintosh let out a sigh of relief.

They had now been going for over three quarters of an hour, and the stream was rippling as happily as always. But Fluttershy felt cold. The shadows from the trees felt like they were closing in on her, and every little glade where the sun came through the leafs was a relief for her. But there was also another reason. On her right was the ruin of the old mansion. She knew very little about it, only that it had been abandoned some time after the Nightmare War. She had visited the place once with her parents. As she remembered, there was only one wall left standing, and that was the old facade, with the front door still visible. How ever,  straight over the old door, two gothic windows with pointy edges were staring down at visitors, like the empty slots in a grinning skull. Some of the corridors had the floors intact, and the old chapel still had some of the stained glass-windows left. But Fluttershy couldn't shake of the feeling of the windows constantly staring at her. They were evil. They wanted her to go, and if she didn't... Her father had to carry his panicking daughter from the ruins, and they had never visited it since. For now, it was just a small unpleasanty on the route to the mansion.

She draw a final happy sigh, when the mansion came into sight. The road went on towards Hooveston, another hours joerney to the west, and from there, it continued to Baltimare. This meant that the road made its way almost the entire way round the mansion, and though the main entrance faced towards Ponyville, you actually approached the mansion from its backside. And, caused by bad planning, this made the outhouses and the old barns holding the mansions livestock being the first thing a visitor would see. The Mansion was built in a Gothic style, with four slim towers surrounding the main building. It was almost a castle, with the stream doubling as a moat. Outside the west wing, the stream widened into a small lake, which the road also crossed on a relatively modern wooden bridge. The entrance also had a drawbridge, never raised in the years Fluttershy had been living there though.

As they came in to the main court, they were greeted by the whole household. Her father embraced her, and she gave him a kiss on his cheek. Applejack gave her a steady handshake. Some ponies saw that as disrepectful, but Fluttershy knew Applejack to be an honest mare, as down to earth as her brother, and she saw it as the highest of honours to shake her hand. Applebloom curtsyed, and Nana gave her a warm, motherly hug. Even though she was not related to the Smiths, she'd always seen them as part of the family more than servants, and even if Applejack always refered to her as "Yer Ladyship", Fluttershy always thought of her as her very first friend.

The first thing she did, other than with a blush asking Macintosh if he would be so kind to bring her luggage to her room, was to go to the west outhouse and say hello to her pets. Fluttershy loved animals. They were her life,  her happiness, her call in life. While other parents gave their kids candy or toys to comfort them, Fluttershys parents gave their daughter small wounded animals they had found in the forest to take care of. Never was their daughter as happy as when she had a new animal to put under her wings, figuratively speaking. To this date, she had 31 pets. And she loved them all.

As usual, her father sent Macintosh to make her let loose of her animal friends, and get dressed for dinner. Blushing as always, she excused herself for the butler "Oh, but an hour goes really quick nowadays, don't they?". His only reply was a small smile. Dinner was light, and since she had travelled far, she withdrew straight after the coffee, and went to her room. The comfort of familiar faces, and the happiness of seeing her animals again, only lasted that long, however, and her fears took charge of her again. On the way to her room she passed her mothers study. By old habit, she shot a quick glance inside, but when she found the familiar chair empty, her grief came back. And with the grief, came her fear for having the dream again back.

She was afraid of falling asleep, and she tried to fight sleep reading Professor Yearlings latest book “Finding the Saphire Statue; an expedition through the jungles of Neighcaragua”. And though the professors narrative was both animated and rich, in the end she fell asleep.

She awoke in the middle of the night. She had dreamt, but there hadn’t been the usual dream. Instead, she had been standing outside her castle. The beautiful mare had been standing behind her, she didn’t turn to see her, she just knew she was there.

My love, may I come in? May I enter your house, just once?

"Of cource you may", she had answered. She heard the hoofsteps approach, but all of a sudden she was no longer outside of the castle. She was in her bed. The window was open. Strange. It had been closed when she went to bed, of that she was sure.

But now...something was coming in to her room. Something big, and black! Fluttershy gave out a small “meep” and hid under her quilt. Slowly she lowered the quilt to see what it was. Now it was standing in the middle of her room. It was a cat. But bigger than any cat she’d seen before, it was as big as a calf, and its eyes were a cold blue. Fluttershy felt like she was a mouse, caught in the pantry. She was frozen with fear, and when the cat approached her bed, she did nothing to escape. She couldn’t move.

To her surprice, the cat started to groom her. Fluttershy was used to cats, she liked the feeling of a small, rough tongue on her skin. However, this tongue was the size of her hand, and it didn’t satisfy with just licking her hand or arm. It licked her all over both of her arms, up her neck and especially on her throat. It spent the most time grooming that part of her, while its big paws effectively prevented her from moving her arms in defence.

It lay itself comfortable next to her, and started to purr. Fluttershy was scared, but she couldn’t help it. She started to stroke the cat. The purring went louder. Then, the cat turned its face down to her chest. It started grooming her again, starting at her throat, moving lower, until it reached the brim of her nightgown. It paused its licking, and with its paw, it ripped the gown apart, to reveal Fluttershys bosom for the world. Fluttershy had felt its claws scratch her skin and… She noticed that that cat had stopped licking her, and was staring at a point right between her breast. Fluttershy locked down, and saw a small scratch, were some tiny drops of blood appeared.

Fluttershy raised her head again. The cat had not moved its focus, it was staring intensively

at the small wound. And then, all of a sudden, it opened its maw, hurled its head forward, and bit her. The pain of fangs piercing the skin was sharp and painful, but rather quick. The wounds were small, but they were bleeding quite a bit. To Fluttershys horror, the cat started to lick the blood up. It did not eat with quick pace, like a normal cat. Instead, it moved its tongue oh so slowly over the wounds. It seemed to taste every drop like she was a well-aged red whine, and because of its tongue, the wound kept open, Fluttershy watched the cat eat with disgust, but she still couldn’t move.

After what seemed to be hours, the cat was finished. Then Fluttershys paralysis suspended and she pushed it violently out of her bed. It did no attempt to go back, it just looked at her. And she heard a voice in her head.

That was the first mark. Do not worry, my love. We will soon meet again.

Then, the cat jumped out of the window, and Fluttershy must have faded of to sleep. Because from that point on, she remembered nothing.

...

The morning was a bit of a blur for Fluttershy. She was feeling weak after the night, but she blamed the dream. It hadn't been as scary as the usual one, but it was disturbing. It all had felt so real, but it had to be a dream, because there was no wound on her chest, although she remembered every detail of what the cat had done. Also, the window was closed when she woke up in the morning, with the hooks in their places. The window could not be opened from the outside. And still... no, she had to let it go. She had her duty. Nana had been concearned for her, but she persisted on attending the funeral, so she went down for breakfast. She managed to eat a little, and then she retired with Applebloom to get dressed. She had not been spending very much time with the young filly, but her enthusiasm and joy soon spread to Fluttershy, and although they were dressing for a funeral, it actually was quite pleasant.

However, that feeling was gone all too soon. It was quite a crowd that attended the funeral, her mother had been a very popular pony, and many members of the lower classes had her to thank for financial support or the possibility of education. The funeral was to take place in the castles own chapel, and the court was therefore filled with ponies. And when Fluttershy walked out from her quarters, she could hear the whispers of the commoners.

“Isn’t that…”

“Oh, by all that’s wonderful, that’s young lady Fluttershy. Haven’t seen her around in ages.”

“…Poor thing. She looks absolutely devastated…”

“…She’s beautiful…”

“…she haven’t been home much. I’ve heard things about her and her mother …”

“… needs her education, Burt. I’m sure that’s nothing else that vile talking…”

“… came home some days after Lady Le Clairvaux’s death, just to RETURN to Canterlot only after a few days…”

“…Makes one wonder, don’t you think? I said to…”

“… looks so sad… You can’t fake that kind of sorrow, can you?”

Fluttershy felt like she only wanted to scream at them. "You don't understand! I did love her! I did! I just had...these nightmares..."  No, she had no intention of making a faux pas. She shut the rest of the world out, and just tried to walk in a straight line into the chapel. But if Macintosh and her father hadn’t been next to her, and Nana holding her hand during the walk over the courtyard, it was more than likely that she would have fainted and fallen to the floor. Now she had made her way into the chapels porch, and the ponies around her now was from the upper classes. Now she needed to pay more attention, or at least pretend she was listening.

“My condoleanses….”

“Sorry for your loss…”

“She was a wonderful pony, just wonderful…”

"She will be very missed, I assure you..."

To each and everyone, she uttered a small “Thank you” or things equal. She tried not to read to much into the looks she was getting, but it was hard.

Finally, it was time to take her seat. Her father sat at her far side. He had been crying, she could see. Poor Daddy. They were so alike, but convention never allowed them to share their emotions. She knew he was a shy and unsecure as her at heart. Mother had done wonders in making him the “Master Le Clairvaux at Everfree Mansion” that the public required. What was there to be of him now?

Next to him sat Nana. She did no attempt to hide her tears. And even now, when the old woman was crying her heart out, she still had most of her concears about Fluttershy.

“There, there, young miss.” she said “keep up that brave face now. Yer making yer mother proud”

Was that really what she wanted to hear?

On her right sat Macintosh. He was as calm and stoic as always, but she could see his eyes flicker at times. He was not untouched by the situation, although he tried to keep it down. Fluttershy just wanted to lean to her side, rest herself against Nanas shoulder and sleep this whole shindig over. But that was not possible, there would be a huge scandal if that slipped out.

There was also the opportunity to lean herself against Macintosh. She did admire the tall, silent butler at a distance, and for engaged ponys there was no convention against showing affection or support in a church, was there? No, but they were not engaged, they were not even lovers. Even though Fluttershy had let her eyes rest on him occationally, she would never have dared to approach him romantically. A well bred mare courting a servant?  Now that would be a scandal, if anything was. A small voice inside of Fluttershy said “To Tartarus with conventions…” but a small voice was easy to silence. And all of a sudden, a picture from the dream came for her eyes. The mysterious mare caressing her wings, kissing her, and touching her... The warmth she had felt in her lower regions shot up inside of her, and it took all her self control not to give out a heavy panting in the chapel.

As an attempt to keep her mind busy, she let her eyes wander over the rows of benches. She could recognize almost everyone.

There are the Pieux family from Stone Manor… it is always sad to see miss Pinkameana with her hair straight… and there is Duchess Lullamoon and her husband whats-his-name-again… small and pretty ugly. Married him for money probably… And there is General Dash with his wife and their youngest.. It was really sad that Rainbow couldn’t make it… damn Saddle Arabia. And thats Miss Heartstrings with her companion Miss Tyler. They look like a married old couple. And that’s … that is...but… Who is… that?

Fluttershys eyes were stuck on a tall mare sitting alone, but for a young man with green hair, in one of the benches in the back. She was wearing the expected black dress, a small hat and a veil, which showed very little of the pony beneath, but there were some details about her that Fluttershy couldn’t neglect to notice, as she got a glimpse of her neck, and a bit of her mane peeked out under the hat.

She’s so pale… like…like alabaster. And mane…that dark blue nuance…To bad I can’t see her face properly through the veil…

At that moment, the mare raised her head and turned her face towards Fluttershy. She couldn’t see the face especially well, but she did see the eyes.

Those eyes… blue…and black… and purple…its almost like…like…. The warmth was coming back again, and...

Then the church organ cut off her thoughts with a mighty chord, and Foalés "Requiem" filled the church. The attendants arose, and began to sing.

"Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine Solaris;

et lux perpetua luceat eis..."

She forced herself to follow the conventions of the mass. It felt like a cold shower, but it was well needed, and at the right time as well. She had been under almost the same influence as in the dream...

But she couldn’t be… could she?

...

Fluttershy could hardly wait until the final words of the Communio was sang and the Funeral was over. It did take some time for all the ponies to exit the church, but when she finally had the liberty to trot werever she wanted to, she started looking for the mysterious mare. At first she couldn't see her, but then she found her, not too far from where Fluttershy stood. The mare was standing in a shady part of the courtyard, next to the same green-haired stallion sitting next to her in the curch. No, it was no stallion… more like a lizard or dragon-boy… strange. She was talking with him in a quiet manner, but she seemed to feel that Fluttershy was coming towards her. She lifted her veil and smiled at Fluttershy. Not surpricing, she was the one to speak first.

“Darling, my sincear condolences. I did not knew your mother personally, but my mother and her were close. You must feel awful, dear.”

The mare took Fluttershys hand in a distinct yet very caressing way, and her eyes was fixed on Fluttershy. The young mare could hardly hide her blush, but she did not turn away her face. It was impossible, she could not draw herself away from those eyes. A long time, they were just standing there, but finally, Fluttershy got control of herself again, but her voice was fairly unsteady when she responded to the other mare.

“Thank you. Now, if you don’t mind me asking...what is your name?”

“Oh, but where are my manners. My name is Rairty. Countess Rairty Van Bellemont. It’s a pleasure to meet you, lady Fluttershy. A real PLEASURE.”

Her smile was to much a grin to be considered friendly, and her voice… it was off in a queer way…

It almost sounded like she was purring.