Author's Note

It's recommended that you check out the story description before proceeding to read this, as there's some important information in there that you might have missed.

0 - Malice (Prologue)

Fluttershy stared blankly at the cream-colored wall in front of her, the tea turning to a slow boil. Her mind was addled greatly from the amount of sleep lost the last few nights. Feeling only a chilling cold, she did not shudder even the slightest bit as she had gotten used to the skin-crawling sensation that’d accompanied her for so long.

“They’re here,” Fluttershy mumbled to nopony in particular, her eyes unfocused.

The floor creaked loudly as she cautiously made her way toward the foyer. Stumbling a bit, she found herself standing in the doorframe of the kitchen a few moments later.

Her entire being felt hollow. “Why does this keep happening?”

The figure standing before her shambled over to the kitchen table and took a seat. At least they were comfortable, to say the least.

“This is supposed to be my house,” Fluttershy muttered, refusing to sit down.

The figure remained silent, the whites of a skin-crawling smile showing through the shadows cast by the figure’s hood.

“I suppose it is, isn’t it? Not like you actually deserve any of it.”

Fluttershy whimpered in terror as she backed up.

The figure tilted their head questioningly. “What’s wrong, Fluttershy? I thought you wanted me to be here.”

She averted her gaze, refusing to meet those cold, soulless eyes that she knew was staring at her from within the hood. “You know I’d give anything if you’d just go away… p-please?”

Amused cackles filled the room; it sounded like horrible static to Fluttershy. “No can do, Fluttershy. But I assume you know why I’m here, right?”

Tears welled up in Fluttershy’s eyes. “I don’t want you here! Please, just leave me alone!”

The figure pulled out a small brass pocket watch, inspecting it curiously. “You can keep on pretending that you don’t enjoy my company, Fluttershy. Either way, I won’t leave… not anymore, anyways.”

They flipped the watch open; a small ticking noise followed. “Oh well. It’s almost time anyways.”

The figure dropped the watch on the table with a harsh clang, causing Fluttershy to wince instinctively.

There was a pregnant pause, only interrupted by the ringing of the tea kettle a few moments later.

Glancing over at the stove, the figure inquired, “Are you going to get that?”

Fluttershy hesitated; her vision was starting to double. “The tea can wait,” she answered in a barely audible whisper.

The figure must have heard her nonetheless, due to the fact that they stood up immediately and headed for the kitchen cabinet.

Fluttershy’s heartbeat quickened as the figure removed a paring knife from the utility rack she kept there. “You really need to sharpen these more, Fluttershy. Dull knives don’t cut very well, you know.”

Fluttershy coughed uncomfortably. “Don’t hurt yourself.”

More static.

“I think you’ll find I’m a bit more, well, concise than you’d think.”

Fluttershy gulped deeply as she approached the tea kettle, trying to get as far away as possible from the menacing figure.

“What’s the matter, Fluttershy? Squeamish around knives?”

Fluttershy had often worked with needles and knives in the past, mostly to take care of her animals’ needs. Despite all her experience, however, she still feared them sometimes.

But it wasn’t the knife that frightened her right now.

Noticing that the figure’s expression had darkened, Fluttershy felt her stomach churn. Alarm bells were ringing in her head, telling her to do something, anything, but she was too choked with terror to actually listen.

That reluctance would cost her. Dearly.

In an instant, the shrouded figure was just centimeters from her face, wielding the knife near her left cheek; clearly, they’d figured out the truth. “Are you afraid of me? Is that it, Fluttershy? After all this time, you are still terrified of me?”

Fluttershy didn’t answer, her face growing paler by the second. In a futile attempt to get away, she tried to flee, but her terror-induced clumsiness only caused her to stumble and land on her rump.

“That’s a shame, seeing the red leave your face. Let’s resurface some of that now, shall we?”

The figure snatched one of her hind legs and sunk the blade deep into her upper thigh.

Fluttershy screeched in agony as the figure cackled madly. Pain dulling her senses, she toppled and flipped the kitchen table over, only doing more bad than good as the blade sank deeper into herself.

With two trembling hooves, Fluttershy shakily removed the blade, watching it fall onto the ground before setting her eyes on her destination. Moaning in pain as she crawled toward the living room, the large gash in her leg prevented her from running.

Static rung in her ears again. “Oh, this is such a great show, Fluttershy! You should have gone into acting instead of modeling! Although, you might’ve just cried on set instead of actually doing what everypony was expecting you to.”

She was almost at the foyer! Just a few more steps-

The figure smashed their forehooves against Fluttershy’s back, cracking one of her wings in the process. Screams tore through the room, but the screeches of pain were silenced when the figure in front of her grabbed her by the throat and held her up.

“Hck… please… st-” Fluttershy choked, spots beginning to dance around her vision.

Not paying any heed to her pleads, the figure shoved the paring knife into her chest, causing her to convulse and spasm in shock. Crimson blood now dripped steadily onto the carpet, staining it a dark red.

“How long do you think it’ll take for them to find you? A week, maybe even two? They wouldn’t be that stupid, right?”

“Hrck!” Fluttershy coughed up some of the blood that was quickly filling her lungs, unable to respond.

The figure’s expression was almost... disappointed, like a foal whose mother instructed him to come back inside after a long day of playing. “Fading already? How utterly pathetic... I thought you’d last much longer than just five measly minutes. Guess you’re more weaker than I thought, Fluttershy.”

With one final motion, they ripped the blade out of her chest and stabbed her straight through the heart.

“Hush now. It’ll all be over soon,” the figure whispered to her.