A young filly was running through the dark Everfree, running blindly towards the torches of an angry mob. Tears stained her pale buttercream cheeks, her wings tucked tightly in fear and panic.

She finally reached the end of the forest, to be met by a sickening sight.

The smell of burning flesh filled the air. Shrill screams were coming from 4 pyres that were set ablaze.

She screamed out to the three ponies on the pyres, but no sound croaked out of her throat.

She was being surrounded by the mob, their eyes had wild with blood lust and joy. Then they started laughing at her calling her names, “Dirty Whore!”, “Tirek worshiper!”, “Sombra sympathiser!” “Stupid cunt!” “Bitch!”...but the name that cut through the most was simply the word “Monster!”. They began to beat her, stomping onto her pale body, feeling her fragile bones snap under the force. She started coughing out dark blood from the trauma to her internal organs.

She remained silent through it all.

That was until one of the many ponies in the mob brought a torch of dark fire towards her face. She felt the heat tickle at her young flesh. She felt as her skin began to burn from the heat as the fire began to scorch her, burning from the intense heat. It was too much for her.

She screamed out in aguish.

_-()-_

Fluttershy woke up gasping for air and screaming in terror. She quickly brought a hoof up to her face in fear the fire was still there. As soon as her hoof touched her muzzle, she flinched slightly, then sighed in relief, for there was no fire. It had just been a dream.

She took slow deep breaths to calm herself down. She looked around her, her silken pink sheets and pillows were covered in the perspiration from the night terror she had just experienced. She sighed in relief at the thought of being safe in her own bed. She looked around at the thick black curtains that surrounded her bed, for she had a window in her room and did not wish to get burned as she slept through the day.

She sat up and pressed her ear against her against the curtain, trying to listen for the familiar sounds of the night. She herd the all too familiar sound of crickets chirping softly through the thick cloth. She sighed happily at that. She turned her body and opened the curtains, to be met by the last few rays of sunlight sinking over the horizon of tall trees. The only time she saw the sun was when it almost gone, but where it could not pass through the thick branches, it could still be visible. She cherished those moments.

As the last ray of visible light lazily sunk beneath the horizon, she got out of her bed. Lighting the candle on her nightstand, she lazily slipped on her fuzzy bunny slippers, before walking to her large ebony window. As she trotted over to the window, she listened to the calm sounds of the crickets chirping in the distance. She placed her hoof gently on the old sill, it gently creaked under the weight of her hoof as she looked outside of her home, as she thought of the events that took place in her dream.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Fluttershy jumped, rocketing up to the ceiling, her head banging against the ceiling, causing an audible thump to ring throughout her room. She gently glided back down to the ground as small pieces of the ceiling fell around her as well as onto her head. She hissed at the pain in her head as she gently rubbed the area with a fore hoof, trying to coax the pain from her skull.

“Hello? Mistress are you all right?” a soft sophisticated voice called out from the door.

A white unicorn mare poked her head through the small wooden door, its hinges groaning with age as it gently creaked open.

“Oh, my!” the mare said as she emerged from the dark hall yet to be lit by candles. Her appearance was more apparent due to soft light of the candle illuminating the room.

She had piercing sapphire blue eyes framed by a royal purple mane, styled to perfection. She was wearing a simple blue and purple dress, with black lace trimming with slits on the back, exposing some of her back as well as her shoulder blades, but not so much as to be uncouth.

She ran to her mistress’s side in worry. “Darling, are you alright? I did not mean to startle you...” She said as she looked over the affected area of her head.

“I told you not to address me as madam or mistress, we are friends after all Rarity…if that’s alright with you.” She said to her personal maid and friend.

“Yes ma’am.” Rarity said mischievously

Fluttershy sighed as she smiled in annoyance at her friends silliness then replied. “And yes I’m alright, I just got spooked and I jumped, and ended up bumping my head on the ceiling.” She touched the spot on her and flinched at the sudden pain shooting through the now sensitive spot. “Ow!” she said in reaction to the pain.

“Let’s get you some ice for that darling.” Rarity said as she began to lead her towards the kitchen. Walking through her small aged wooden door, they began to navigate the large halls to the kitchen. Fluttershy stared at the walls as Rarity lead her.

She stared at the intricate gold designs that decorated the blood red walls that were trimmed with black at the top and the bottom framing them, as if they themselves were massive pieces of art, in which for many reasons, they were.

Many large paintings of flowers painted gold, large landscapes depicted in moonlight and sunlight hung along with many other pieces hung on the walls. Many pedestals lined the walls, each with intricate and fragile vases and pieces of glasswork sitting on top of them.

She noticed that they were nearing the landing connecting to the staircase that lead down into the main hall where the kitchen, ballroom and dining room could be accessed. “oh yeah...” she thought, as she remembered the poor colt she had ….’Put down’.

Her mind began to wander once more, as they slowly trotted down the stairs.

She had always felt bad about putting down ponies, then using them for food, but she knew her place as a predator. She hunted, killed and fed like any other predator...well maybe not hunt, more like lure or trap prey, much like a spider did. Plus she had to feed her coven someway, and not only was pony blood a better nutrition and helped keep them full longer, it also tasted better that…animal blood. She nearly teared up at the thought of killing an animal and draining it of its blood.

She was always animal lover. Speaking of which.

“Hey Rarity?” she asked her personal maid and friend softly.

“Yes darling?” She responded to her Mistress.

“Where’s Angel bunny?” She asked in concern over the whereabouts of her favorite bunny, that could possibly be hungry, as she was walking of the staircase.

Rarity’s eyes went wide as a single thought entered her head as she heard that name.

“Pinkie!” the white mare called as she raced toward the kitchen where her friend and angel bunny were likely to be.

Fluttershy, shocked at the sudden outburst, quickly followed the crazed mare into the large kitchen, the entrance being a large arch being over three ponies tall and about four wide. But she had no time to pay attention to the details right now, as she was chasing her friend, even though she was only gliding at half the speed of the mare in front of her, that was currently running through the large dining room into the large doors that led to the kitchen.

“Pinkie what are you doing!” Rarity said in anger. She gasped in shock at the sight before her.

Pinkie was standing in front of a large pot of boiling blood whilst holding an extremely horrified and scared Angel bunny by his ears, appearing with the intention of dropping him in the large pot of boiling red death below the shaking thing.

Fluttershy was walking in, curious on what was happening. “Rarity what’s going o-“she began to say before stopping, seeing the scene before her. She looked at Angel, his eyes tightly shut in fear of his impending doom, then at Pinkie, then back at Angel. She did this for a few more seconds, before it finally clicked.

Pinkie looked into her mistress’s eyes, as she began to regret ever thinking this was going to end well. She slowly started to move the bunny away from the bubbling cauldron of death and slowly towards the floor. The bunny, still thinking he was about to die, curled into as tight as a ball he could, and kept squeezing his eyes in fear. He flinched at the feeling of the cold ground touching his feet.

Cold?

He peaked one of his black soulless eyes open, and looked about realizing he was safe on the ground. He saw his owner and quickly ran behind her legs, blowing a raspberry at the terrified pink mare frozen in fear.

Pinkie gulped as she stared into Fluttershy’s eyes as they slowly started to boil themselves. Preparing for what she knew was about to happen next, she turned her head and turned off the stove. When she turned her head back, she was face to face with her master, knowing what going to be some of the worst pain in her life was about to happen within the next five seconds.

She had one last thought before searing pain took over her head.

“Buck!"

Author's Note

How'd I do ?