The wind was blowing through the cracks of the old house. Granny Smith wrapped herself in a cardigan. She was the only one left on the farm the others had moved out long ago. She was alone, which was for the best. She knew she couldn’t trust anypony so being alone was the best she could hope for. The wind kept blowing the candles, the rain made it even colder. The fire was dying down, but she couldn't risk making it bigger in case she fell asleep and the smoke filled the room. No! That’s just what her stalker wanted. Her ears perked up at every crack and at every creek. She would not be snuck up on by any pony.
She knew the storm would clear it always does and when it did the house would warm up again. She wished Applejack and Applebloom were here, but they hadn’t visited her in months. How could they when her stalker could use them to trick her.
They had tried, of course, every week, but that was a risk Granny Smith couldn’t take. What if it was her stalker pretending to be them? She was no fool. Looking around to put on her glasses to light the candle she noticed the time 5:30pm and wondered if she should make tea. She went to the fire to make it hotter not too big, but it was quite cold.
“Mustn’t give her an excuse to come in.” Granny Smith muttered as she got the fire going again. The last pony to visit, she was Mayor Mare she tried to trick her to tell her the house was condemned, but she didn’t fall for it no not this time not ever. This house was fine it just needed a pick me up.
Granny Smith sipped her apple cider as a pick me up on her own when she heard a scream from above the house and a hard thud in front of the door. She looked at the door and putting the cider down, she took her frame and walked slowly to the door. She wished she could move faster, but if she couldn’t run from her stalker at least she could hide from her. It took a while to get there and she opened the door without removing the chain. The sound of whimpering from a yellow Pegasus with a fading pink mane and tail came through the door.
She looked hurt, but Granny Smith remained cautious.
“Fluttershy?” Fluttershy’s hoof was not moving properly and her side was bleeding, but her stalker knew her weaknesses. She remained barricaded from her using the door as a shield.
“Please help me,” Fluttershy whispered, reaching out with one hoof as best she could. It looked like she was in a lot of pain her eyes filled with tears.
Granny Smith stepped back. “No! This is a trick! You want me to let you in so you can…” She gulped. “I won’t do it!” She announced.
“Trick? Miss Smith, I’m Applejack’s friend I need your help.” Fluttershy’s voice was halted by a coughing fit, she took deep breaths.
“I don’t want to die. Just go away, please.” She closed the door.
“Please, I’m hurt, I need a doctor.” Fluttershy’s voice grew silent and Granny Smith opened the door.
Her heart racing, she was confused at this level of effort from her stalker. She should've given up by now, like when she pretended to be the mailmare last week. She saw through that disguise easily, she didn’t even get the eyes right and came up with a rubbish story about losing her letter.
“YOU CAN’T TRICK ME!! I WON’T LET YOU IN EVER!”
Granny Smith looked at Fluttershy again lying there losing a lot of blood.
“Oh, Horsefeathers.” She stepped onto the porch and looked at the pony pretending to be Fluttershy. It was a good disguise there was even blood on the ground. Granny Smith was nervous if this wasn’t her stalker and she didn’t do something she would come soon enough. Nervous Granny Smith touched Fluttershy and looked at her hoof.
“I’m still alive! Oh, Celestia. Let’s get you inside.” Granny Smith was stronger than she looked and managed to drag Fluttershy inside out of the rain she felt very cold and wet. Fluttershy lay in front of the fire and Granny Smith wrapped her wounds in bandages and watched her suspiciously.
After about half an hour she grew comfortable in the knowledge that, if this was her stalker, she would have died by now, so she went to make some tea and read a book that usually helped her relax. When she woke up Granny Smith was in the middle of a chapter so she didn’t see Fluttershy shivering as the yellow mare walked to the fire trying to avoid putting pressure on her front right hoof. Her hoof was in extreme pain she tapped it and winced it was probably broken.
After a minute, Granny Smith looked at the fire horrified.
“NO! Don’t make the fire too big. You’ll give her an excuse.” She jumped out and put a barricade in front of the fire. The stallion at the store told Applebloom it was guaranteed to stop smoking, but she couldn’t be sure.
Fluttershy looked at the fire through the barrier and then back to the old mare.
“Give who and excuse? For what?” She seemed confused but still tried to be kind.
“Death if I’m not careful the smoke will suffocate me and she’ll get in.” Granny Smith rocked in her chair back and forth nervously. Fluttershy couldn’t move to hug her so she just talked.
“Have you told Applejack or Applebloom about this?”
Granny Smith shook her head. “Can’t trust them, she’s a shape changer like a changeling only harder to spot.”
Fluttershy turned to face her, Granny Smith was trembling, her teacup shaking in her hooves.
“When was the last time you talked to someone?”
Granny Smith thought back. “Mayor Mare she was trying to get me to leave, tried to trick me. I didn’t let her in, though. She gave up and left. Before that she used my granddaughter Applebloom, she had the nerve to use her. Told me she got her cutie mark I didn’t buy it though she didn’t know that our family hates pears so when she had a pear cutie mark I knew it was a trick.”
Fluttershy listened to drinking water that Granny Smith had provided her. “Applebloom does have a pear cutie mark. That wasn’t a trick.” She looked around the rundown house. “When was the last time you left the house?”
Granny Smith thought back. “I went to see Twilight four years ago or about then. Asked her to turn me into an alicorn.”
Fluttershy nodded. “That’s a tough spell. What did she say?”
Granny Smith looked angry and then content. “She said no but when I told her a pony was stalking me she put a spell on the house so no pony could get in unless I invited them in.”
“Will that work for your stalker?” Fluttershy asked.
“I’m 107 I don’t know, but it’s working so far.” Granny Smith smiled despite herself.
“But you won’t see your family anymore?” Fluttershy looked sad. “This isn’t living really.”
“Better to not live than not be alive.” Granny Smith got up from her chair and rested on her bed.
Fluttershy felt sorry for her and tried a different approach. “Doesn’t death wear a hood and have a scythe? Have you seen him?”
Granny Smith chuckled and looked at the burned out lantern. “Foalish drawings of what they fear. Skeleton with a cloak and a scythe. They’re wrong, she is a shape changer and looks normal. But I have seen her. She was on the coach once helped an old stallion with his luggage. They shook hands and she got off at the next stop. She was a firefighter last time I saw her. She ran into the building and there was only 1 survivor.”
Fluttershy was skeptical, but the existence of magic meant she shouldn’t rule anything out. “Does she cause all deaths all by herself?”
Granny Smith closed her eyes it was 7pm and she was tired. “I don’t know, maybe only pony’s death, but she’s out there waiting for me to let her in.”
Fluttershy sipped some more of her water and looked into the fire. “Have you called a doctor?”
Granny sat up again. “No, I haven’t I don’t have a telephone. Even if I could, how could I trust it wouldn’t be here?”
Fluttershy thought about this conundrum. “You could ask for a stallion doctor.”
She shook her head. “I only think she is always a mare, she could be a stallion.”
The wind blew a window open which caused both of them to shiver. Granny Smith closed it again before either of them got sick. Unknown to them on the top of a hill in the storm, a pony looked at the house and started running towards it wearing a raincoat.
Fluttershy looked at the bread and hay. “If you don’t go out, how do you get groceries?” Granny Smith looked at the cold tea. “Applebloom delivers them, she talks to me for a few minutes through the door and then leaves.”
“Don’t you ever invite her in?” Fluttershy sounded sad like she knew the answer already.
“Can’t what if it’s her stalking me again. Trying to trick me. I can’t risk it.”
Fluttershy reached out and touched the old mare's hoof. She really wished she could hug her. Before they could continue there was a knock on the door. Granny Smith looked at Fluttershy scared.
“It’s okay to go to answer it.” The old mare looked at the door but didn't move
“Who is it?” Granny Smith said.
“It’s me.” Called the voice of Applejack from the other side. “I got worried about you please open the door.” Granny Smith opened the door a crack but kept it on the chain. She spotted Applejack wearing a green raincoat.
“We’re fine, no need to worry.” Granny Smith said panicked.
Fluttershy smiled and said. “Let her in.”
“I can’t what if it’s a trick?” Applejack was getting frustrated.
“Gran, please we want to help you we are going to celebrate Applebloom’s birthday tomorrow if you would come. We all miss you. Please?”
This was a trick Granny Smith knew it. “You don’t have your accent. I knew this was a trick go away.”
Applejack got annoyed. “You aren’t being stalked and I moved to the city. Accents change, now please let me in.”
Fluttershy nodded. “It’s going to be okay, I promise.”
Granny Smith sighed. “Okay, but I won’t let her touch me.”
Fluttershy nodded. “I can work with that.”
Granny Smith opened the door and Applejack hugged her.
“Aaaaaaaahhhh” She panicked as Applejack back up to the wall. After a minute she looked at her hooves. “I’m still alive. This isn’t a trick.” Granny Smith hugged Applejack as Fluttershy who was feeling a bit better closed the door before they got too cold.
Granny Smith sat back down in the kitchen as Applejack made tea. Fluttershy made herself inconspicuous, not wanting to take the attention away from the two apples. Applejack talked for an hour over tea. She talked about a stallion she had met and Applebloom wanting to change her name because of her cutie mark.
“I told her that Pearbloom doesn't have the same ring to it.” She talked about Big Mac and how he had been talking to a doctor about his shyness.
“Eventually we will need to find a way to keep him quiet.” Applejack joked.
Granny Smith only asked questions and looked over to Fluttershy a few times. She didn’t mention her. After 2 hours of tea and talk the storm had cleared and Applejack looked out the window.
“Good they finally cleared the clouds over the village. Are you coming to Applebloom’s party?” Granny Smith shook her head. “I do have a present for her, though it's in my bedroom. Do you remember where it is?”
Applejack nodded. “Yes, I do. I’ll get it for ya.” She hugged Granny again and left.
“Okay, I’m ready now.” Fluttershy stood up and removed her bandages. She didn’t have any cuts or blood on her fur.
“How did you know?” Fluttershy asked.
“She didn’t see you. I really should've known sooner.” Granny Smith turned to face death. “You still look like her. I thought you would’ve changed.”
Fluttershy smiled. “I don’t do that, cloaks and scythes are too cheesy you said so yourself. I also don’t kill ponies I help them.” She reached out a hoof and Granny Smith took it.
10 minutes later Applejack found Granny Smith lying on the couch. She hugged her tears rolling down her face as she held her for what seemed like an hour.
There was an old mare who lived in a room. And, like all of us, was frightened of the dark. But who discovered in a minute the last fragment of her life that there was nothing in the dark that wasn't there when the lights were on.
