"Father?" a young filly's voice echoed throughout the empty mansion, the dusty darkness filtering in the windows from outside. Diamond Tiara trotted towards her father's bedroom, cautiously entering the already-opened door. "Father?" she said, more quietly this time.
Silence.
Diamond sighed, sitting down on her father's bed. She might not have been surprised by this, had it not been so late or so strange. Usually Filthy Rich locked his bedroom door before he left for the day. Only the gentle light of a candle and the evening light through the window let the filly see. She looked around, afraid that her mother would be lurking around, waiting to give her a punishment for staying out too late with the other Filly Guides. However, after a bit more searching, Diamond Tiara realized she was alone in the house.
Diamond considered going back to hang out with Silver Spoon, but the thought of her parents arriving to find her gone made her hesitant. However, she decided to risk it, since Filthy Rich was often home first and was the kinder of her two parents. Quietly opening the door, Diamond looked around to see only one lone pegasus mare flying idly in the street, whom the foal recognized as Fluttershy.
Diamond carefully approached the mare, but something in the normally shy pegasus' eyes looked lifeless and dead. Around the mare's mouth was a rainbow-colored substance which looked like a mixture of drool and cake frosting. It was bizarre, to say the least.
"Fluttershy?" Diamond said quietly, and the mare's head swiveled around with a grunting gasp. Diamond backed up as the mare floated towards her, making groaning noises and gnashing her teeth like a feral animal. With a tiny squeak, the filly began to run back towards her house, trashing her tail as a sort of defense mechanism.
