It was night time in the small country town of Ponyville but it wasn't just any night of the year...no it was Nightmare Night, the festive holiday where ponies would dress up as all sorts of ghosts and ghouls. Jack-o-lantern were placed along the doorsteps of every home and lined the streets which were lit up by many festive spooky decorations , colts and fillies venture from door step to door step laughing and giggling, about every few seconds the magic phrase " Nightmare Night! What a fright! Give me something sweet to bite!"would be shouted by the children. Their bags filled to the brim with sweet treats, the thick scent of caramel and chocolate filled the air, the soft whistle of the light breezy winds carrying various shades of brown, red and orange colored leaves on its back. It was a very entertaining and inviting sight but this is not where our story takes place, just outside of town lived a yellow Pegasus by the name of Fluttershy, usually around this time of year she would be frightened, locking herself up in her home and turning out all of the lights and pretending that nopony was home, but this year she had a change of heart. She wore a festive dark pink witches hat and actually decorated her home, a few pumpkins lined the bridge to her cottage, as like a sign saying that this year her door was open to those who decided to pay her a visit.
This Nightmare Night she had been given a boost of confidence from her friends , this made her feel more safe , having no fear of anypony trying to spook her this night. Fluttershy was looking in her bathroom mirror softly humming a festive tune as she continuously fiddled with her witches hat trying to get it just right. She smiled warmly finally adjusting the hat to her liking , now that this task was complete she exited the bathroom making her way down the steps, there was very little noise this time of year most of the little forest faring creatures that often scurried around her home had now returned to the forest, getting ready for hibernation season.
" I'm so glad that I could muster up the courage this Nightmare Night!" she complimented herself as she reached the bottom of the steps leading into the living room, Fluttershy scanned the room and saw her pet Angel Bunny.
Angel Bunny scurried to Fluttershy's hooves and sat on his hind legs tapping his tiny foot against the wooden floor like an impatient parent waiting for their child for an extended amount of time. She innocently smiled as her gaze met her arrogant bunny's " I'm sorry to have kept you waiting Angel Bunny , I was trying to get my hat just right !"she bashfully explained.
Angel Bunny sat there with a raised eyebrow and crossed paws as he simply stared at her , his tiny foot making a light thud as he continued to tap it against the floor and rolled his eyes dramatically, he simply turned his back to her looking in the other direction giving Fluttershy the silent treatment. He was trying to guilt trip the mare for taking so long to make his dinner, and it was working for Fluttershy began to feel her heart sink a bit, feeling guilty about taking her time to get her hat just the way she liked it. She almost forgot about Angel due to the excitement of prepping her night out with her friends. She sighed and put a small warm smile on her muzzle leaning down so that she may speak to him eye to eye.
" Would you like mama to make your pumpkin carrot stew?" She asked tilting her head so she could see the ill-mannered bunny's face trying to make eye contact with him.
He turned his head away from her not letting her get a single glance of his alabaster face, but he did nod in response, Fluttershy saw the motion of his head, and that's all she needed from him, a simple nod yes. With that she trotted into the kitchen humming sweetly, she pulled out her oven cloth placing it on the counter top and began to work on the brew. She went to the fridge pulling out a few slices of pumpkin and a few carrots, she pulled an iron pot out from the cabinet and put it under the faucet turning it on and left it running so that the pot could fill up, the knife made a thud as it made contact with the cutting board as she sliced up the fresh vegetables, then proceeded to slide them into the pot. Once she was finished slicing she placed the knife down and trotted over to the sink shutting it off as she took the almost filled pot out and placed it onto the stove. She wrapped her teeth around the knob and turned it about midway so it could boil at a fast even pace, she put the lid on the pot and looked around to find something to occupy her time, hearing the clank of the lid Angel's ear perked up as he hopped into the kitchen eagerly.
Fluttershy trotted over to the window as she waited for the soup to finish boiling, she moved the curtain to the side and peered out to see her nicely decorated bridge, though she did hope the jack-o-lantern didn't scare anypony. She stared out at the bridge for another minute or so, her soul was like a vibrant erratic fire, eagerly waiting for the soup to finish so she could be on her way to town to meet her friends. After a few more minutes of waiting by the window, her eyes widened and her ears flicked as the broth within the pot began to bubble up.
" Oh, it's finished !" She said jumping up as she opened her wings giving a few flaps with them as she slowly hovered over to the stove, she landed gently on her hooves and turned the Knob shutting off the stove.
She flew up to the cabinets above her and opened one , she pulled out a porcelain bowl and shut the cabinet floating back down to the floor, the bowl still in the grasp of her mouth. She placed it down on the counter and grabbed the oven cloth with her mouth so that she could remove the now heated lid without hurting herself. Placing the lid on the counter, she then opened a drawer and pulled out a soup spoon which she then trotted over to the pot and proceeded to take a nice scoop from the brew and poured it into the bowl. She smiled as she sniffed the steam pouring out from the bowl letting out an accomplished sigh' Just how he likes it' she thought to herself.
" Oh Angel Bunny its do-" before she could finish Fluttershy was cut off as she looked down at her hooves , to be greeted by a joyous looking white bunny with pleading hungry eyes, rapidly wagging his tail and drool leaking from his mouth.
" To the table Angel, we can't make a mess on the floor now" she giggled seeing the adorable look on his tiny white face.
Angel Bunny nodded and in a flurry of white he sped over to the table, taking a seat in his high chair, how did he get up there? Who know but Angel always had his ways. While he sat down eagerly in the seat taking a big long deep inhale into his tiny nostrils taking in the sweet scent of the soup. Fluttershy softly grabbed the bowl and floated over to Angel , gracefully landing onto the floor she then placed the bowl on the table in front of him , a soft warm smile on her lips. Angel paid the mare no mind as he mindlessly stared at the bowl like if he were put into some form of hypnotic trance, he was about to dive in but then stopped....his ears twitched and he looked up at the Pegasus with a look of confusion , his eyebrow raised the look on his face said something isn't right.
" H-huh what's wrong Angel? Oh d..did mama not make it right!?" she asked him, a worried look of concern began to slowly plaster itself onto her face.
He put up his tiny paw in front of her mouth tell her to hush , she did so looking strait at the tiny paw with wide confused eyes, he raised one of his ears into the air , using it like a sound scanner listening for something. He slowly tried to look past Fluttershy looking directly at the window behind the mare , Fluttershy turned to stare at the window tilting her head in confusion and..she saw nothing, he was simply staring at nothing. Whatever he was hearing, she wasn't so she felt that he was overreacting to some of the leaves being swept by the wind. Fluttershy's attention was then averted back to Angel as he continued to stare, he had a suspicious look, she looked back to the bowl and seen that some of the lines of steam were starting to disappear.
" Oh, it's nothing Angel Bunny" she smiled at him trying to assure the suspicious white critter " Now hurry up before your soup gets-" She was halted by a horrified shriek from Angel, his fur stood on end , his eyes were wide and filled with terror, his mouth gaping. Angel leaped out of his seat scurrying over the table and knocking over the bowl, the hot broth hit her foreleg " O-ow!" she cried as the bowl landed on the floor shattering into pieces. Fluttershy held her hoof but by the time she looked up she saw Angel heading for the front door " N-no Angel wait!" she called out meekly but it was too late, he had already fled through the doggy door. Fluttershy quickly rushed to the door flinging it open to see he was already on the other side of the bridge heading for the mysterious Everfree forest" No Angel don't go into the forest!" she cried out as he ran into it not looking back.
Fluttershy began to panic ignoring the burning sensation on her leg as she began to bite on her hoof looking back and forth between the road to town or the path into the forest." Oh what do I do what do I do!!" she looked at an unlit lantern on her coffee table and she let out a nervous whimper as she made up her mind" I have no time to get help, I have to go in for him!" she trotted over into the kitchen looking at the mess of soup and porcelain shards on the floor. Her gaze shifted to the window and she thought to herself ' What could he have seen to make him go into such a panic?..' she shook the thought from her mind as a shiver ran down her spine, she quickly trotted to a cabinet opening it, she pulled out a can of lantern oil and trotted back to the living room, the oil let out a thick nostril blocking scent that made her a bit light headed but she did her best to ignore it. She poured some of the oil into the lantern and lit it, a small flame that shined brightly flickered to life, she picked up the lantern and rushed out of the home and into the dreaded forest alone.....
***
Silence.... silence , all that could be heard in the forest was silence, not a peep, not a squeak not a sound from any animal who would call the mystifying forest their home, not even the bats...now that was a first even for Fluttershy. The only thing she could hear however was the crunching of leaves and twigs under her hooves with every step, and vibrant beating of her coy heart. As a matter of fact she didn't even see any form of nocturnal wildlife , the forest seemed barren and desolate , due to it being the middle of autumn the colorful leaves were falling off the trees making them appear dead, the lack of leaves made it possible for the moonlight to shine through them , which gave the mare a sliver of light illuminating the path before her. She was fallowing Angels tiny paw prints that were now engraved into the dirt, thank Celestia he chose to run down a path instead of into the tree line, then she would have had a problem tracking him. The forest surprisingly had a faint smell of grass, hidden under the scent of moss and dirt.
" Oh, Angel bunny I hope your alright " She looked around and would occasionally put the down her lantern, calling out for him" Angel! Oh, Angel bunny! Where did you go!?"
She retrieved the lamp off of the ground and continued her search for Angel, his paw prints were spread out from his rapid hopping, he was mindlessly running away 'What could have scared him to make him run off like that?'.What ever it was Fluttershy did not want to meet it, this thought caused the bashful mare to quicken her pace following the paw prints until she reached a fork in the road. Two paths were spread out in front of her , one path was illuminated by Luna's graceful moon, and the other path was lit by nothing, as overgrown trees began to grow over each other, only slivers of moonlight were able to make their way through the tangled branches but even that wasn't enough. The sight of the path screamed the words stay away but sadly for the Pegasus ...the tiny paw prints led into the inky blackness of the path. Fluttershy could only help but stare at the foreboding path , she gulped and let out a fragile whimper, she swore she felt her heart leap into her throat as she could feel its strong beating up her esophagus like a tribal drummer had made it his home.
" Oh..Angel bunny..please be alright"
She timidly picked up the lantern, and cautiously began to trot into the abyss of darkness before her, she entered and found that Angel bunny's tracks were indeed on the ground, now all she had to do was find him. There was no telling how long the stretch was, the darkness made the path anonymous to her vision, she had been wondering down the path for a few minutes, her eyes constantly shifting side to side as if she was making sure nopony was hiding in the darkness. Her legs trembled in fear , her fast heart beat made it feel like she was having a hard time breathing, it was almost like walking into a cave made of wood . Fluttershy kept her head down, her focus not on her surroundings only on the tiny paws engraved into the ground, she put down her lantern and looked down the path into the darkness and began to call out.
" Angel!?...Angel, it's mama! Come here sweetie! " she cried out hoping to see a tiny white ball of fur run up to her hooves. This place was starting to get to her as every second or so she'd quickly jump thinking that she saw something moving in the darkness, but it was only her mind playing tricks on her..or was it?
She had thoughts that she had shoved away into the back of her mind like a chest filled with unwanted memories buried in the back yard, the thought of creatures watching the mare from the abyss that surrounded her , slowly cornering her until they had a chance to ambush began to eat away at her subconscious rapidly. She shook her head 'Oh Fluttershy don't be silly there's nothing in the darkness, it's just y-you and Angel where ever he is..' she picked up the lantern and put on a brave facade in her mind but in reality unknowingly her pace quickened, her teeth had a vice grip on the lanterns leather handle, and the fur of her coat stood on end . Continuing her march forward her paranoia began to take hold as her muscles began to spasm sometimes her wings would twitch and she would jump around as if she were to see somepony behind her. She let out a sigh and shook her head knowing that she was being irrational and letting her mind get the better of her actions' Come on Fluttershy get a hold of yourself..nothing is here but you and hopefully Angel where ever he may be hiding....please be alright..'. Fluttershy was about to place her lantern down to call out for her lost pet but something caught her eye just a few steps ahead of her... the lantern stayed in her mouth but she kept her head parallel to the ground, her long mane dragging across the dirt as she went to investigate.
'What is that?' She got close enough for the lanterns glow to illuminate whatever it was and upon inspection what she saw made her gasp , her eyes widened and she dropped the lantern taking a few steps back. What was laying on the ground in front of her was the mauled and partially devoured remains of a tiny critter that had some tiny bits of flesh dangling off of the bones, from the looks of it, the body was fresh some of its intestines laying caught between the remnants of its shattered rib cage. It wasn't Angel from what she could tell from the partially eaten face, it was actually a squirrel with one eyeball dangling from the eye socket, but the look on its face disturbed Fluttershy the most , the critter had a look of terror just like the one on Angel's face.
" Oh my ..what could have done this?.... Angel!! Oh, Angel sweetie where are you!??..." The sight began to make Fluttershy panic , all forms of thoughts of a dead Angel Bunny began run a marathon through her psyche.
Fluttershy quickly grabbed the lantern off of the ground, luckily it didn't shatter on impact from her being so close to the floor, Fluttershy increased the speed of her trotting as she walked over the body, the further down the path she traveled, the more bodies of dead animals she saw. These ones, however, were old, as the flesh on their bodies had already decomposed leaving behind the skeletal remnants of their former selves all with hanging jaws and shattered bones as if they were screaming and struggling or torn open. This wasn't a path this was some creatures den...but what was this creature?..Fluttershy didn't care and didn't want to find out anytime soon, she just wanted to find Angel and get out of this mass grave. Her thoughts were interrupted hen she heard something behind her snap, she stopped and froze in fear , hear heart felt as if it were about to cave in as she heard it in her ears like a primitive drum beat, she made no sounds, the only sound that could be heard was the wind blowing through an opening overhead, and then following the moment of dead silence ....was a low hiss.
With that Fluttershy let out a whimper and began to run down the tunnel like path, and the more she ran did not matter for whatever it was continued to follow her, she could hear bones of some of the critters snap under its steps . This wasn't Fluttershy's imagination she now knew that this was all too real, she was actually being chased by something in the darkness and she didn't want to see what it was if such a creature was so truly terrifying to see. The faster she would run didn't seem to affect the creature it seemed like it was right behind her, Fluttershy knew that her legs weren't meant for running , she knew she would be at her fastest if she were flying so she did, there was just enough room for her to spread her wings and fly forward. Down the path, even more, skeletons began to pop up left and right as they started to form piles along the ground, she had definitely increased her speed by flying, thank Celestia she had gotten training from Rainbowdash. It was no different because even at this speed whatever was chasing her was still right behind her, its speed constant with hers, this..thing was intent on catching her . At this rate Fluttershy could swear she was going as fast as her rainbow maned friend , the air whipping past her ears and her mane flying backward from the air resistance , she must have put her witches hat on pretty tight because even now it had not gone flying off of her head.
Fluttershy began to grow tired of forcing her wings to flap harder than they should ,the joints in her wings began to tensing and her breathing became more ragged as she slowly began to descend back to the ground putting her hooves out under her ready to start running as soon as they hit the ground. She hit the ground she started bolting forward, the path now becoming narrow from the collection of animal bones along its sides. Fluttershy looked ahead and seen a small trickle of moonlight come in through an opening in the branches and on the ground under the moonlight was a shaking Angel Bunny his back turned to her. She opened her mouth smiling widely and unknowingly let the lantern drop causing it to shatter and make the flame cease" Ang-" was all she could get out of her muzzle before she tripped over a bone and tumbled to the ground rolling up to him her hat falling off, he jumped and turned around to looked at her scurrying to her side.
" Oww...." she quietly cried out as she raised her head up to meet Angel's face and she happily gasped " Angel ! " she grabbed him and pulled him into her embrace as she repeatedly kissed his forehead " You're alright! Oh, mama missed you!"
Seeing his caretaker made the fear flee from his being and he tried his best to wrap his tiny paws around her neck giving her a hug in return, she looked at him with a warm smile, so happy to find her little bunny safe. She tried her best to get up but due to that serious tumble,she sprained her hoof letting out a cry from the stinging pain " Ow ow ow!"she could walk but she had a small limp.
" Alright Angel bunny let go ho-" she was halted by the sound of a snapping bone just a few feet away from their location, blocking off the exit of the path, she had completely forgotten over the ecstatic joy of finding her pet that something was chasing her.
" Quickly ! Angel this way!" she commanded as he quickly nodded in reply hopping behind the limping mare as they made their way past the moon's spotlight but to their surprise what waited in the darkness on the other side was a wall of stone. " Oh no! Oh no no no!" Fluttershy began to panic clawing at the wall, it was a dead end and the only way out was the way she came in...she looked up to the opening in the trees to see that it was too small for them to fit.
She had stopped moving as she heard more bones begin to snap, in response she quickly backed up against the wall pulling Angel behind her , acting like a living shield from whatever horror waited on the other side of the light. That same exact hiss she heard earlier echoed out from the darkness on the other side of the light. She whimpered squeezing every inch over her back into the stone wall behind her, keeping Angel behind her wing and then something unexpected happened next....something from the darkness ahead of them spoke...a two toned female voice.
"....You...." it said
" H-huh?" she meekly replied to it
" You...your..one of them...p-ponies..." it said as if it were unfamiliar with the word it uttered
" Ponies?...W-what about us?.."Flutter she seemed confused about this statement
" Ponies...I've watched ponies for..a long time....from afar...but..why?" the voice asked as the snap of another bone echoed signaling that it was getting closer to Fluttershy.
" W-why what?" Flutter shy asked in a fearful tone, her hooves scraping against the ground as she continued to try and push herself against the wall
" ..I..always watch them....but why when I do...why does my chest hurt ...and why do my eyes....they get wet..." it replied, a hint of sadness mixed with anger and confusion in its voice " Then...you and the others...this friendship...you six....it seems the strongest.... with you six....it.. makes my chest hurt...and my eyes water but...also I feel like...hitting things... and I feel like shouting..."
Fluttershy began to think to herself while staring into the darkness on the other side of the light' I-Its chest hurts?..Its eyes get wet?..It wants to hit things?...Is it talking about ...sadness and anger?' this struck Flutter shy but before she could speak she was interrupted.
" But...." its paused mid sentence
" B-but what !?" she meekly asked the voice in the darkness
"..You...you'll help me ..you'll help me understand...."
With that the snapping of bones on the ground continued to approach Fluttershy and Angel, Fluttershy didn't want to know what was walking towards her but she couldn't help but stare into the darkness her curiosity taking control of her senses. All she could do was...simply stare as her body began to tremble instinctively, her heart pounding against her rib cage, and her ears folded down in fear as she stared as sweat began dripping from her brow. It was like a cat had trapped a mouse in a corner and Fluttershy was the mouse.
" ..Now....I'll know why.."
It had stepped out of the shadows and into the light, Fluttershy's eyes widened as fear spread through her body and all that managed to escape the defenseless mare's mouth was a blood-curdling scream " Ahhhhhh!!!".....
***
"Hello!? Fluttershy!? Fluttershy are you home!?" Twilight called out as she entered Fluttershy's home slowly and cautiously while observing her surrounding hoping to see her friend come out from somewhere. Twilight and her friends had gotten suspicious that Fluttershy had not shown up the night before and decided to pay her a visit and investigate why she had never shown up" Why would she leave her front door open?..."
Rainbowdash stared at the purple alicorn and simply shrugged in response " I dunno maybe she's out back? Pinkie you come with me!"
" Okie dokie!" Pinkepie hummed as she bounced behind Rainbowdash fallowing her around the home.
Twilight felt that something wasn't right about this entire situation and she had her reasons as to why. Twilight knew Fluttershy would never just bail on her and her friend's plans for no apparent reason and she knew that Fluttershy would differently not leave her front door just wide open for anypony to stroll on in. While Twilight and Applejack looked around the living room for clues to the reason for Fluttershy's disappearance. Rarity decided to look upstairs while Twilight stayed in Fluttershy's living space with Applejack. Twilight looked over at Fluttershy's coffee table and saw an open can of lantern oil, she used her magic to levitate the oil over to her and was confused as to why there was an open can of lantern oil." huh?"
" Ya find somethin?!" Applejack asked as she trotted over to Twilight with perked ears and a concerned look on her face.
" Yeah I found an open can of lantern oil.." she said confused as she held it between the both of them, showing Applejack and she then shared the same look of confusion as Twilight.
" What in the hey was she doin with lantern oil?"
" I'm not sure but I think we should look around for more clues to find out why Fluttershy pulled it out in the first place"
Applejack nodded in agreement and returned her focus to the task at hand as did Twilight returning the can back to its original position. Twilight used her horn as a flashlight as she used a spell to make it emit an illuminating glow. She used it to light up places that she could not see, like under Fluttershy's sofa and her unlit closet. After a few minutes of searching she looked at the entrance way to the kitchen and seen the smashed bowl and dried up soup splattered against the floor. Twilight gasped and trotted into the kitchen to investigate the mess, Applejack's ears perked up hearing the commotion made by alicorn and she quickly trotted in after her.
" Ya find somethin?!" she asked as she walked in seen the mess " What in the name of Celestia happened in here?"
Twilight shook her head " I have no idea but it looks like she dropped this bowl" she continued to examine the kitchen to find a pot filled with a liquid and took a smell and crinkled up her muzzle from the repulsive smell " Bleh! definitely pouring that down the drain!"
" What is it Twilight?" the orange mare asked
" Looks like Fluttershy left out carrot and pumpkin soup"
Twilight's horn began to glow as she dumped the pot of day-old soup into the sink the as soup trickled down the drain, she then looked to her side and saw the chopped vegetables on the counter. Applejack began to check the cabinets and drawers for any other forms of clues but to her avail, she found nothing in them. Twilight sighed as she put the pot down doubting that they would find nothing began to corrupt her mind but then the tomboyish voice of Rainbowdash invaded her mind and she turned her head to the window.
" Hey, guys come out here we found something!!"
Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity quickly rushed out of the house to find Rainbowdash and Pinkiepie staring at something on the ground in front of them. Twilight ran up to them pushing her through the group " What did you..." what she saw on the ground in front of her halted her sentence to a dead stop. On the ground was Angel, his chest slightly elevating and deflating in rapid motions from his erratic shallow breathing, and the engraved look of horror in his eyes constantly staring at the sky, like if they were oblivious to him, but the most dreadful thing was that..he was covered in a sticky crimson substance, it was blood but whose was the question? What also didn't help was that sitting next to Angel's body was Fluttershy's witch hat, and it had a splash of the dried blood on it as well. Twilight put a hoof to her mouth 'Oh no..that's Fluttershy's hat!..', while the rest of them just watched..dumbfounded by the sight.
" Isn't that Fluttershy's witch hat?!" Rainbowdash questioned looking to Rarity for an answer a look of worry now spreading to her face.
" Yes darling, I made her that hat just for Nightmare Night!" Rarity answered
Soon enough all of Twilight's friends started feeling the same thought of fear for their friend as Twilight. So many kinds of thoughts of Fluttershy enduring agonizing pain began to invade the alicorns mind and she couldn't bear them anymore, she needs answers! Twilight knew that the only pony with such answers was the little bunny himself. Twilight shook her head entering back into reality and put her face in his trying to look into his soulless fear-stricken eyes.
" By Celestia is he covered in.." Rarity inquired as she looked away in shock " I think I'm going to sick!" she quickly ran inside holding her hoof to her mouth leaving the group outside.
Pinkiepie looked at her as she started bouncing nervously " Whats wrong with him Twilight!?"
" I don't know Pinkie!" Twilight returned her attention to Angel ready to pry him for the answers her soul was dying to figure out so that they could end this mystery.
" Angel?..." Twilight said his name hoping to get some form of a response" Angel...where is Fluttershy?!" still no response " Angel! can you hear me!? " she began to lightly shake him, getting some of the blood on her hooves " Angel what's wrong?! Whats going on?!" tears began to build up in her eyes as well as the rest of her present friends.
" Angel....Angel!....ANGELl!!".....
Author's Note
Uh hey there people nice to meet you ^^", well this is my first time I worked on a horror story..well a fan fiction in general well the first I actually took my time on instead of just blerbing out words onto the page like my last fiction, well again I hope you enjoy it and if you find any mistakes just let me know ^^ also I am new at this so please forgive me if its not perfect or not up to your standard 
