A Beast in the Dark: The Azure Menace

Twilight Sparkle is sitting in a hard plastic chair a look of worry and concern upon her face, She sits looking down over her friends bruised and battered body. Fluttershy's breath slow and shallow her eyes moving rapidly as if stuck in a nightmare. The sound of the myriad machines hooked up to her the only noise in the room besides the two ponies breathing.

Twilight reaches out a hoof to touch her dear friend, " Come on Fluttershy you gotta wake up," She pauses for a moment between words to sniffle, "We need to know what happened," she says sighing softly.

Fluttershy says nothing to this the sound of breathing and the beeping of machines quickly filling the room once more. Slowly the pegasus begins to stir as if from a dream, before sitting bolt upright on the bed letting out an unusually loud scream for the usually timid and shy pony. "NOOOOOOOO PLEASE DON'T!" She screams out in terror waking from a horrid nightmare.

Twilight jumps at this then wraps her front hooves around her friend, "Fluttershy its alright your safe now," She holds her friend comfortingly being careful to not hurt her any further, "Your safe now," She repeats to her friend.

Fluttershy looks to her friend tears threatening to burst from her eyes, "Oh Twilight," She cries, "It...it was terrible," she says her voice shaky seeming to be on the brink of breaking into sobs.

Twilight tightens her hooves around her friend a little, "what happened Fluttershy?" She asks her wings fluttering a little along her back.

"We...we were attacked," Her eyes suddenly grow wide, "The girls, where are they...are they alright," She asks with deep concern in her voice.

At this Twilight looks away from her friend tears running down her face, "They didnt make it Fluttershy," She says her voice so low as to almost not be heard.

Fluttrshy's face contorts slowly into a look of anguish, "Nooo," She squeaks out the tears now breaking free to flow down her face landing softly along the sheet of the hospital bed.

For sometime the wails and sobs of Fluttershy can be heard as she cries into her friends chest. After sometime Twilight manages to calm her down her sobs slowly giving way to just sniffles and tears that run hot down her face. Twilight then gets to the grueling process of getting the still visibly distraught pegasus to describe what happened. Poor sweet Fluttershy doing her best to help.

"Well," She begins in a shaky hushed voice," It was during the storm that Applebloom, SweetieBelle and Scootaloo came to my door. They had been out trying to get their cutie marks outside of town and had lost track of time. They got caught out in the storm and were close to my cottage so had decided to come to me," She pauses for a few moments and reaches for a glass of water on the small table next to her, taking a drink from it before setting it back down.

After this she takes a few breaths and continues on, "Well they showed up at my cottage and I let them in. I got them warm and made them cozy, but then..." She looks away from Twilight and she chokes up a bit. Twilight looking to her friend reaching over and Putting a hoof along her shoulder.

"In your own time Fluttershy," Twilight says as she rubs her friend's shoulder. Fluttershy taking a few moments to compose herself before she continues on.

"We heard something hit the roof," Fluttershy resumes after a minute, "Then there was scratching so I went out to see what it was, up on the roof," She stutters slightly through the next bit her voice choking every so often, "I could see it t..thro...through the flashes of lightning i..it looked like a p..p..pony..but with scales. That is...until it stood up," -She looks off into the distance as if seeing the thing that had killed the 3 young ponies. After a few moments she continues on

"It was so clear lit up by the lightning, It stood up on its two hind legs and stretched out these two long slender forelegs that didn't end in hooves but looked almost like what you described your Canterlot high friends having. It had an unmistakably pony like black mane and tail, but it was covered in what looked like dragon scales," She shudders lightly before continuing on, "It looked right at me and jumped off the roof, it was on me before I could even move. It grabbed my wing," She goes to reach behind her to touch her wing, Twilight stopping her.

"Fluttershy," Twilight pauses just looking at her friend holding her hoof, keeping her from touching her own back, "I..I'm not sure you want to do that," She says to her friend apologetically, Fluttershy's eyes widening in fear.

"Twi..Twilight?" She asks her voice cracking and shaking as she speaks, "M..my wings ar...are they ok," Twilight simply looking away from her friend unable to reply. After a few moments she lets go of Fluttershy's hoof allowing her friend to feel for herself. A horrified look comes to Fluttershy's face as she touches first one side then the other feeling just rounded stumps where her wings used to be.

"Nooo," She cries out weakly slumping back against the soft pillow behind her. Tears streaming down her face as she begins to cry once again. Both ponies hugging close, Twilight once again letting her friend cry and sob against her. It takes quite sometime for the now flightless and sobbing pegasus to calm down. She finishes describing the creature with distant, hollow eyes and a flat voice.

Sometime later Twilight is in her castle rummaging through different books when suddenly, " Aha I found it," Twilight proclaims loudly holding up a large red book with her magic. She trots over putting it down upon the table Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash all moving closer to get a look. The Book has 'Compendium of Mythological and Rare Creatures Volume 37' upon the cover. She opens the book and begins flipping through the pages with her magic stopping suddenly, "Based upon the description Fluttershy gave me of the creature that attacked her I do believe this is what we are up against," She says each of the ponies taking a good look at the picture.

"It is called Draconis Equus Ferus Caballus or Dragon Pony," Continues Twilight after a moment, " It is said to be the offspring of a dragon and pony with abilities based upon which type of pony it comes from. Fluttershy said it had wings so we can assume it is part pegasus which is actually good for us," Twilight says with a little hope in her voice, Rainbow Dash speaking up before the others

"And just how is that good for us Twilight?" Rainbow asks seriously, Twilight looking around at her friends who all nod in agreement.

"Well," Twilight says her voice low, "The book says that if it was part earth pony it would have incredibly physical strength and endurance and if it was part unicorn," Her voice trails off as she reads.

"What if it was part unicorn sugar cube?" Applejack asks, Twilight looking up from the book.

"It would have unimaginable magical ability," Twilight says flatly, "Perhaps even stronger than Celestia," She continues on, "But being part pegasus beyond the natural abilities of a dragon it only has flight, the book goes on to say that these creatures have an insatiable hunger for," Her eyes grow wide as she reads the next line, "For pony flesh," Every pony in the room quickly getting a look of shock and disgust upon their faces.

"How garish," Rarity says.

"Unbelievable," Chimes in Applejack.

Rainbow Dash just sinking down to the floor her wings and ears drooping as she thinks of the scene at Fluttershy's cottage having been the pony who found it, "It...it ate them," She says in a low voice most of the color having drained from her face. The others all moving to hug her

"We will make it pay Dash don't you worry, I have my own want to take a piece of that varmint," Applejack says angrily, Rarity nodding

"Yes we will make that ruffian pay for what it did to the girls darling," Rarity adds her voice breaking a little

Pinkie Pie having been unusually silent up till now says with a tone of hatred unusual for the cheerful pink pony her mane and tail both flat "Why couldn't it have had an insatiable appetite for sweets, I would have fed it all it could eat. Now though I just want to make it as unhappy as it has made me," All of her friends looking to her shocked

"Calm down girls," Twilight says doing her best to stay composed and in charge, "First we need to find it before we can do anything," the ponies breaking up their group hug. Rainbow dash speaking up first breaking the silence that had come over the room.

"Well lets get to finding this thing and make it pay then Twi," The Cyan pegasus says with anger in her voice as she flaps her wings lifting off the ground hovering a foot or so above her friends.

"We don't know where it is," Twilight says in a low voice, "All we know is that it resides somewhere in the Everfree Forest."

"Well we will just have to search the whole forest then," Rainbow suddenly adds her face grim with determination.

"Were going to have to inform the other Princesses first Rainbow," Twilight says with a tone of chastisement to her voice, "We are going to need help from Princess Celestia and Princess Luna with this. I know you girls all want your chance at this thing but only the three of us are strong enough to fight against this beast and hope to survive having both magic and flight at our disposal," At this all of her friends look down at the stone floor of the castle, silence quickly filling the room.

Spike comes over to Twilight having been waiting silently near the group a quill in one hand and a piece of parchment in the other, Twilight looks to the little dragon nodding before he brings up the quill touching it to the parchment,  "Dear Princess Celestia," Twilight begins her voice slowly fading out as spike writes. Somewhere out in the forest something hunts through the tree's chasing a familiar light blue unicorn a picture of a star tipped wand with a crescent line of magic coming from it, adorning her flank.