Author's Note
Well well well. Time for my first dark story. You have been warned, this ain't a pretty tale. It involves death, blood, gore, guilt, and the worst thing of all. It contains something no friendship could ever fix.
Hush
The air was stiff with the smell of dirt, urine, and blood. I wrinkled my nose in disgust. The guards in front of me walked silently, doing their job very well. The only light were some torches that made the armour of the guards glisten like gold. Come to think of it, I do believe Celestia said they were made of gold. Not very effective in battle. Gold is too soft to handle a steel blade.
The sound of hooves clanking on the stone floor were drowned out by shriekes, moans, and groans of the insane. I shivered, but not from the cold, from fear of what was facing me through a particular door. I have been here before, leaving always with my heart more guilty and full of shame than when I came. The asylum keeper who was leading us suddenly stopped on front of the dreaded door.
He said "Here we are Princess Twilight."
I nodded and said to the guards "Please wait here and do not come in."
The guards looked at each-other in uncertain confusion, but did not dare question the orders of a princess. I took a deep breath and walked in, shutting the door behind me. Before me was a wall of see through, magic infused glass, designed to repel unicorn magic. Behind the wall was a monster of nightmares. Scaring my very existence.
She had a straggly, unkept coat of what was once a buttercream color. Her rat's nest of a mane and tail were a dark pink color. Her once soft feathered wings were now scaly bat wings, her cutiemark three fierce pink bats. Her ears were like a bat, her blood red eyes with an animal look in them. Her fangs were currently in the body of a otter, sucking the poor thing's life giving blood dry. I sighed as I looked at this monster, this creature. She was once a sweet, shy pegasus. Whom I had murdered in one of my magic experiments.
Yes. Murdered. There was no sugar-coating the truth. Discord told me so, before almost killing me. It was a mercy he wasn't thinking strait and I was able to stop him. Poor Discord. I wonder if he can still dream of the good days while in an eternal sleep. Flutterbat finished her gruesome meal and looked at me.
I said in a soft voice "Hello Fluttershy."
Flutterbat snarled at me and lunged at the glass, trying to attack me. She rubbed her head after the impact and glared at me in angry hunger. I sighed as I remembered what led to this.
I looked up from my book to knocking on my door. It was early in the morning and was raining.
'Who in the world would be knocking NOW,' I thought as I opened the door.
I gasped when I saw Fluttershy, her eyes full of fear, and said "Come in come in! What happened?"
Fluttershy gulped as she walked in.
She said "Please Twilight, promise you won't tell anypony about this! Please!" I nodded, choosing not to question her. She opened her wing and withdrew a dried-up apple with two bite marks punctured in it. I gasped and put a hoof in front of my mouth.
"How long," I asked in a quiet voice.
Fluttershy wiped some tears from her eyes and said "L-last night. Oh Twilight, I'm scared!" I placed a hoof on her back, rubbing it softly.
I said "Don't worry, we'll cure this. Come downstairs, I'll need to do some tests on you. Nopony, not even Spike or Starlight, is allowed down there without my permission.'
I lead Fluttershy down to the lab and for the entire day we did tests. Fortunately, the girls were busy, Spike was reading comics, while Starlight was spending time with Trixie."
Oh what a fool I had been when I promised to not tell anypony. If I had, that day would never have happened, and I would not have made my judgement which carried a hefty price.
"Ok Fluttershy, I think it will be ok. Until I figure out a cure, just eat an apple a night and LOCK yourself in your room for the night. It will work," I said.
Fluttershy nodded and walked upstairs, with me following her. I was relieved that Fluttershy asked me to not tell anypony, now that I thought about it. If Celestia learned that I did an experiment on living, breathing creatures and on my friend, I would get locked up for misuse of magic!
And so it went on for months. Tests, tests, more tests. Fluttershy came every morning and left every afternoon with an apple tucked under her wing. I worked when it was convenient for me, for I didn't think that Flutterbat was of any consequence. I remember the day perfectly where the fact that there was a problem was staring me right in the face and I didn't realize it.
I opened the door and saw Fluttershy at our appointed time, right on schedule. I grinned and welcomed her in, but she clearly had something to say. She was shifting her weight from one hoof to the next.
"What is it," I asked.
She mumbled quietly "Can we, uh, not do any more tests? If that's ok with you." I put a hoof to my chin in thought as I mused out loud.
"Well, I don't see why not. The tests are consistent, no new anomalies have occurred... yes. We can stop the tests," I said. Fluttershy smiled in thanks.
She responded as she made her way out the door "Twilight, have you told Princess Celestia yet? Maybe, maybe she can help."
I said, no, almost shouted "No!"
When I saw the look of surprise come over Fluttershy's face I quickly added "Sorry I just, I might be banished for doing magic on you and the bats. Or locked up! Or locked up in the place I would be banished too!"
Fluttershy responded "Oh, we wouldn't like that! It's ok, I'm sorry."
Idiot. That was what I was. An idiot. A selfish, pompous, arrogant idiot. If I had talked to Celestia, all might have been ok. But no, I was to worried about my precious title and crown. I heard a whisper, one that makes your skin crawl.
"TWiliGHt, WhY dID YOu kEEp HuSH?"
I lifted my eyes and almost screamed in fright. It was a transparent figure of Snips. The first victim. He was a pale blue color, with two red drips of blood trailing down his neck. His eyes were glazed over, an almost blind look about them. His mouth was dribbling blood as well. One leg was missing, eaten to the joint with dried blood crusted over.
"Go away. You are only a hallucination." I mumbled. However, he didn't. All that happened were more dead ponies, all eaten by Flutterbat. Lyra, Vinyl, Octavia, Doctor, and Zecora. But what made me hold my breath until I almost passed out, was the image of Applejack.
She was the worst. Her legs has been horribly ripped apart until the chilling white bone glistened as it showed. Her neck was barely being supported by her vertebrae, while her jaw was broken.
"YOu kNOw wHat yOu HAvE tO Do. MUrDerEr." She croaked out, her jaw swingy wildly.
I felt my eyes being forced open by an unseen force. I mumbled "I know what I have to do."
I easily dispelled the magic restraint and teleported in. Flutterbat looked at me in surprise, probably wondering why I was offering myself as an easy meal. A small part of me screamed at me to stop this madness, but it was a tiny voice. I looked at Flutterbat, then was knocked down by her. She opened her mouth, revealing her bloody fangs. I closed my eyes.
"I'm sorry I kept hush, Fluttershy." I said.
I had no voice afterwards for the screams I wished to scream.