BANG! BANG! BANG!
Fluttershy's eyes shot open at the sudden noise of the door. She sat up, holding her bedsheets tight around her.
"Ah, who's there?" she called out, her voice trembling as the banging continued.
When no response came, Fluttershy nervously got out of bed and onto her four hooves. She started to make her way to the door, quietly, afraid of who or what might be trying to get into her house. Her mind was starting to play tricks on her, as the banging went on – she began to see monsters lurking in every shadow of her dark house. Panic took hold of her, and Fluttershy could feel her heart beating faster and faster as she approached the door.
She bit her forehoof as she stood at the door, and just when she was wondering if she should open the door or start crying, the banging stopped. Fluttershy blinked, unsure what to make of this. She decided to nudge the door open by just a crack, ready to slam it shut again if there was something scary – like a dragon – behind it.
To her surprise, it was a dragon – but a small, purple baby one, one she knew would never harm her. Spike was on his knees outside her door, tears rolling down his face. His arm was raised ready to hit Fluttershy's door again, and she immediately knelt to wrap her forelegs around him, cradling him gently in her soft wings.
“Spike, what's wrong?”
Spike looked up at Fluttershy, scrubbing at his eyes to hide his tears. “I don't know where Twilight is,” he started, voice wobbling as he tried to control his emotions. “I got up to get a drink and she was gone...There was a note in her bed, saying she'd gone to the Everfree Forest for some late night research,” Spike paused to draw breath. “I know Twilight can take care of herself, but...the forest is still so dangerous, even for an alicorn princess!”
Fluttershy nodded, still holding him gently in her wings in an attempt to calm him down. She knew Spike was right; she knew the forest well, and all of her experience with the wildlife had brought her up close with many of the more dangerous creatures in Equestria.
“Fluttershy, you know how wrapped up in her work Twilight can get,” Spike spoke up again. “Something's going to get her, I just know it.” He started to cry again, tears running down his scaly cheeks that he didn't bother to wipe away this time. “Please, help me find her.”
“Of course,” Fluttershy tried to reassure him, though the thought of going into the forest, alone, at this time of night filled her with dread. “But...why come to me? Applejack or Rainbow Dash would be much better at this sort of thing...”
“It will take Applejack too long to look for her on foot,” Spike explained. “And Rainbow Dash lives too high up in the clouds, I can't reach her.”
“But we'll never find her through all the trees...”
“Twilight's going stargazing, so she'll be in a clearing. Fluttershy, please – I just want to check on her to make sure she's okay. That's it.”
Spike looked up at her, eyes pleading, and there was no way Fluttershy could just turn him down like this. Spike needed her.
“Okay. Get on my back,” she said, trying not to think about facing down a monster from the darkest parts of the forest. As Spike climbed on and she prepared to take off into the air, she thought to herself, You can do this. Just a quick pass over the forest to find Twilight and put Spike's mind at ease, then straight back home.
Fluttershy flew high into the moonless night, circling the Everfree Forest. Holding on, Spike leaned in to speak into her ear: “It's too dark to see anything. You're gonna need to fly lower, Fluttershy.”
She gulped, but obediently slowed the beating of her wings as they began a slow descent.
“Lower...Lower...” Spike directed her as they hovered closer to the treetops. Fluttershy paused whenever there was a break in the thick canopy of trees, letting Spike get a good look.
“There!” Spike yelled suddenly, making her jump. “I can see Twilight, down there! In this clearing!”
“I know you're happy to see Twilight, but can you not yell so much, please? It hurts my ears,” Fluttershy whispered apologetically. She could see Twilight herself now; she was looking intently into a telescope, and hadn't noticed them.
“Spike?” she repeated, her body starting to tremble from the cold and fear. “Um, Twilight looks fine to me, d-do you want to go ho-”
Fluttershy stopped mid-sentence in shock, only just stifling a gasp with her forehoof as she noticed a dark shape just behind Twilight. Peering closer, she recognized the creature as a timberwolf. It moved slowly out of the dense tree line, stalking Twilight like a ghost. One of the most aggressive predators in Equestria, Fluttershy remembered, as her pupils shrank and fear gripped her heart.
She tried to call out to Twilight, but could barely manage a squeak as terror stole her voice, watching the predator hunt her friend. It moved closer to Twilight, slowly and quietly, and dropped to the grass to hide when Twilight briefly looked up from her telescope. She murmured something to herself and wrote down some notes, totally oblivious to the danger.
As she saw the monster preparing to pounce, something within Fluttershy clicked. She flicked her wings and twisted her body into a steep dive from the ground, the speed making Spike cry out in surprise as he just managed to hold onto her. Finally, Twilight turned to see what had just streaked past her – and then she noticed the timberwolf. The sight of the monster, with its large, powerful dead-wood body and foul liquids dripping from its gaping mouth, made her fall over in shock.
“Fluttershy!” Twilight was tripping over her words, having only just noticed her friend. “There's a timberwolf – go, fly, run! Get away from here while you can!” she shouted desperately. But Fluttershy stepped right between her friend and the wolf.
The timberwolf barked, sending a wave of noxious breath over Fluttershy, but she didn't flinch. She stood and stared, her eyes locked on the timberwolf, as still as a statue. This only seemed to anger the creature more, as it barked and growled at Fluttershy; she could feel her body begging her for escape, but something else within her kept her there, still and unmoving. It wasn't fear, it wasn't pride, it was...some unknown force, something she couldn't describe, but she knew that she wasn't backing down until her friends were safe.
Perhaps the timberwolf sensed this strange energy within her, too, because after what seemed like an eternity of the two standing their ground, it backed off. Fluttershy watched, still not moving until she saw the beast retreat back into the trees.
Spike jumped off of her back and ran to Twilight, wrapping her in a hug. “Twilight, you're safe!” he cried, tears of happiness flowing as he buried his face in her coat. “I was so worried!”
"Fluttershy!” Twilight looked at her with gratitude, hugging Spike and still looking a little dazed. “You saved me – thank you!”
Fluttershy yelped, jumping five feet into the air as Twilight and Spike looked at her in confusion. “Oh...sorry, Twilight, you made me jump,” she said sheepishly, shuffling her hooves as her eyes glancing back and forth.
"I made you jump?" Twilight cocked her head as her brain tried to process this new information, while Spike was still hugging her tightly. "You just stared down a timberwolf – how did I make you jump?"
Fluttershy smiled nervously, looking all around the forest clearing. “Well, I'm not a very brave pony...and you were pretty loud just then.” She blushed, hoping that Twilight wouldn't take offence at the comment, before resuming her scan of the tree line.
Twilight sighed. "I’ll never work out where your stare comes from," she said, smiling warmly at Fluttershy, “but I'm happy that you have it.” Fluttershy smiled back and they hugged, before Twilight continued “But what were you looking for?”
“Timberwolves only try to hunt things weaker than themselves,” Fluttershy explained. “If you hold your ground, they will most likely back off. But it will come back with its friends...I'd really like to not be here when it does, if that's okay with you." She hoped it didn't sound too much like an order.
"Yeah, we should probably go. Can you help me get my equipment back to my house?" Twilight asked, sheepishly.
Back at Golden Oak Library, Twilight was shutting the door when Spike asked, “So, Twilight, why were you out so late alone?”
“Oh, you know....looking at stars...ah...” Twilight hesitated, and Spike raised his eyebrow, not looking like he believed that excuse for a second.
Fluttershy put a hoof on his shoulder. “It's okay, Twilight doesn't have to tell us what she was doing.”
Twilight sighed, embarrassed by what she was about to say. “Okay, fine. I was looking for aliens.”
“What, like...little green ponies?” Spike cocked his head, confused.
"Well, yes. No. Maybe? I don't know," Twilight paused, trying to find the words to explain. “There's this old pony legend. It happened many years before Princess Celestia, Luna, Discord or even Equestria itself. A great event happened in the sky over the old ponies' kingdom: two groups of stars filled the night's sky, one of green and the other yellow. They moved and danced in the sky and many blinked out, and then one yellow star transformed into a massive insect, glowing with a light that filled everypony's heart with fear.”
Fluttershy and Spike waited, fascinated, and Twilight continued, “ In response, a green star turned into an enormous whale, with pegasus wings. It turned the night into day, and it ate the insect of fear. And with that, the green being disappeared from sight, all the yellow stars fleed and the green ones gave chase."
Twilight gazed out of the window, looking up at the night's sky.
"I was trying to find some evidence that it happened. I mean, who knows what's out there?"
Author's Note
Please let me know what you think and if want more.