Eldritch

Chapter One: The Dead don't Sleep.

Ponyville, a street corner.

Status: shaken by Written Script’s corpse, but still healthy.

When I was exploring a seemingly abandoned house, I found Golden Harvest, a.k.a Carrot Top, alive and well. She keeps on saying something about Written Script and a shadow that was behind him before he died. I ask how he died, then she went silent.

She is hysterical and keeps looking underneath her mane for something. I'll ask about it later.

I have decided to take her with me to help find my friends. After all, she is all alone, so somepony needs to show her kindness.

We are to quietly slip out of the town. I can't fly us out because of the brigand archers, so we will have to use our own four hooves to make it out of here.

My fear, my shyness is getting in my way. I’m scared of seeing the thing that took Angel away in the streets. I have seen it in my nightmares, in my daydreams. It always appears in front of a overgrown estate, then beckons me to follow it. I saw it on the night it took Angel… I saw it… right?

I can’t relive that. I can’t be scared, or I will never be good enough. I have to be strong, for my friends.

-Fluttershy.

(^^^)

Fluttershy and Golden quietly creep through the streets, avoiding bandits and the dying as their moans of pain and suffering fill the air as soon as the thunder ends.

Golden was still shaking her head and crying silently. She absolutely refused to see the dead bodies that littered the street, all friends she knew before they got the plague.

They passed Sugarcube Corner and passed Carousel Boutique, passed Golden Oak Library. Seeing these locations, in ruin and disrepair with bodies littering the ground in front of the former homes of her friends. This brought Fluttershy to tears, as the view of them all looks like a nightmare come true.

As the two mares continued to trot in the shadows of death, they finally have gotten to the outskirts of town.

Fluttershy frowned. It wasn't supposed to be this easy to escape Ponyville at all. She could see The Castle of Friendship and further away, her own cottage.

Fluttershy turned to Carrot Top and gave her a reassuring nod. A nod Golden Harvest returned.

Fluttershy took one step forward and sunk halfway into the ground. The cold of the earth shocked her and she quickly tried to scramble out, with Golden Harvest helping her by pulling her by her mane unto somewhat dry land. Fluttershy had mud all over her underside and legs.

That was when she really took a good look at the landscape before them.

The unrelenting rain has caused the area around Ponyville to become a swampy quagmire, filled with dead bodies and tombstones, which were here because the local cemetery was full.

As the two gazed in terror at the makeshift swamp-graveyard, they saw what appeared to be floating candle lights colored an eerie, faint blue.

One of the faint blue flickers of flame floated over to the two mares, whispering something to them.

“Don't you recognize me?” the orb of light said.

Golden Harvest’s eyes went wide, “Diamond Tiara?! Is that you?”

“yes…”

“What happened to you?” Fluttershy asked.

“I died of the plague. My body rests somewhere here. I was so young… and buried with my parents without a tombstone. I have become a Will o’ Wisp. I cannot rest without a proper burial.”

Fluttershy dipped her head, “we are sorry you have to be this way.”

“Do you know what happened to the bandits?”

Fluttershy’s head went up slowly, “No. Why do you ask us?”

“Look around.”

Fluttershy did, and wished she hadn't.

The bodies of the bandits that she hid from in town were ten feet away from them. The bandits’ eyes were wide with horror, as if something scarred them to death. One of the bandits had their lower body completely missing, their entrails floating in the swamp.

Fluttershy looked at Diamond Tiara’s Wisp and said with a hint of panic in her voice, “what happened to them?!”

The wisp cackled, “I led them into the swamp to die!”

Almost immediately, the rest of the wisps turned from blue to red and began laughing. Then, half rotten hooves began to emerge from the swamp, seemingly clawing at the air. Even the bodies of the bandits began to move. Their lifeless eyes fixed upon the two mares.

Diamond Tiara’s wisp said in a rather sinister tone, “join us, in death. It is the only escape from this plague, the only escape from this Tartarus on Equis. Join us.... join us.”

The other wisps began to chant “join us” over and over again. The undead still clawed at the air, and the bandits’ bodies began to crawl towards Fluttershy and Carrot Top.

Terrified to the point of borderline insanity, the two mares began to jump from island to island, trying to avoid the dead. Fluttershy was always one island ahead of her companion, move fast to avoid the rotten hooves grasping the air.

“Come on, Carrot! We need to get out of here!” Fluttershy said as she turned to encourage her friend.

Golden Harvest was moving as fast as she can, trying to keep up with a adrenaline fueled Fluttershy. But, she was not quick enough for one zombie hoof.

Golden cried out in pain as the sharp bones curled around her hind leg. She was wrestled to the ground and was being dragged into the swamp.

Fluttershy could look on in horror as fear locked her joints. Fluttershy saw her scream as a rotten hoof covered Golden’s mouth. Then, a skeletal head with bits of flesh still attached emerged from the murky waters and sank its teeth into Golden’s neck, and tore out her jugular.

Fluttershy was paralyzed with fear, unsure what to do against such evil.

Soon, other bodies emerged from the same spot and tore open Golden Harvest’s body and began to eat her organs. They ate her as she was still alive, kicking and screaming.

“You're next, you're next, you're next!” the wisps chanted

The wisps laughed their haunting laugh as Fluttershy spread her wings and took off towards her cottage, crying the entire way.

(***)

Fluttershy opened the door and slammed it shut, and locking it. She galloped into her dining room, picked up a chair with her teeth and galloped back to the door. She jammed the chair underneath the doorknob and then collapse on the floor and began to weep.

It just wasn't fair. She tried to escape a nightmare town with somepony she could have saved. She could be talking to Golden Harvest right now if she didn't hesitate to help the mare. She didn't deserve her fate at all, not after all she has been through.

Fluttershy kept on crying, practically drowning in her sorrows.

“Fluttershy, open your eyes.”

Fluttershy paused her crying. That voice… could it be?”

Fluttershy slowly turned her head upwards to see the princess of the moon herself. Then Fluttershy took note of her surroundings. They were at a pristine lake with a board dock and the moon reflecting off the water’s surface. They were surrounded by aspen trees.

She turned back to Luna, “please tell me it's really you.”

Luna trotted over to her and sat down besides her, “it is I.”

Fluttershy snuggled up to her and began to cry again, with Luna patting her back.

“There, there. You have been through a lot, haven't you,” the princess cooed.

Fluttershy wiped her snout and said, “why Luna? Why is this happening to Equestria?”

Luna gazed at the water, “to tell you the truth, I have not the slightest clue. All my sister and I know is that dark magic is involved.”

Fluttershy asked, “dark magic? But, what kind of dark magic user would do something like this?! Why are they trying to turn this place into the stuff of nightmares?”

“The most ancient and evil kind.” Luna looked down to the yellow mare and asked, “what are you willing to do to make this land right again? To help your friends?”

Fluttershy didn't even hesitate to answer, “anything.”

“Even venture to a place that nopony has come back from.”

Fluttershy hesitated, then nodded.

“Then I have a task for you.”

Luna got up and traced the water with her hoof. The water’s surface rippled as it revealed a map of the Kingdom of Equestria. She pointed to a spot on the map.

“South of Baltimare, near the Horseshoe Bay, lies a manor. This manor was once a site for many healers and scholars, a place where the owners would host lavish balls and help those that were poor and sick. Then, one day, it changed.”

“What happened?” Fluttershy asked.

Luna shrugged, “only legends and myths shine light on the matter. Some say the wife went mad and butchered the entire staff and her husband, others say that she was seduced by a demon, or the dark arts. Some even suggested that she hung herself, and her ghost haunts the crumbling manor. All we do know is that place is a Major pool of the darkest magic on this continent.”

Fluttershy asked, “what's its name?”

“Blackened Hoof manor,” Luna said.

“I… I think I heard of it before.” Fluttershy put her hoof to her chin, then her eyes widened, “I have heard of it! Twilight was talking about it a couple months ago. She said on how she bought a book on the subject.”

“If she has a book about it, then it would be wise to acquire it, for it could give you powerful insight into the manor.”

“So, wait. Princess Luna, what am I to do once I get there?” Fluttershy asked.

Luna waved her hoof over the water and the map disappeared. She turned to Fluttershy and said, “before its fall from grace, the manor housed many books on the healing arts. It has one book that has a cure for anything, or so they say. We need this book to save the population of the sick and dying. My sister and I developed a spell that prolongs the life of an infected pony, but they will still die in the end. So we need that book. It may be the only shot we have.”

Fluttershy nodded trying to gather up her failing courage, “alright. I will try m-my best, for my friends and Equestria.”

Luna smiled, “I know you will.”

The world around them began to distort, getting foggy and the moon fading. Fluttershy quickly said; “what about my friends? Are they okay?!”

Luna’s voice called out from the growing darkness, “yes, they are alright, and they miss you.”

Tears began to slip from Fluttershy’s eyes as she said, “I miss them too.”

Fluttershy opened her eyes, and groggily got up. She was in her cottage, and the lightning still flashed outside. She trotted over to her window and looked out of it. She could see the very faint lights of the Will O’ Wisps a hundred yards away. Trying not to think about what happened in the swamp, Fluttershy trotted around her house, noting that the various cages for the animals that lived here were empty. She went upstairs and tried to turn on the shower, in a bid to make herself feel better and to clear her mind.

Instead of hot water, blood began to spray from the shower head, splattering Fluttershy’s body.

Fluttershy scrambled out of the bathroom and galloped into her room, dripping foul blood all over the floor.

Tears began to slip as she finally realized that she could never escape the horrors of this land. It seemed that every part of her being wanted to give up.

“No, I-I have to be strong,” she whispered to herself. She went back into the bathroom, shut off the blood-shower and tried to wipe as much as she could of her body. When she was finished, she went back down stairs and rummaged through her cabinets, looking to take food items for her journey.

As soon as she put some food in her bag, she was about to head out her door when she noticed a pot of flowers near her window. The pot had a bunch of dark purple-colored flowers that drooped a little.She approached the pot and read the sign in the pot.

“Wolfsbane.”

Fluttershy knew the plant well. She had to rush many animals to the Ponyville Hospital to save their lives from the menacing poison this plant produced. And in most of those cases, all the animals had to do to nearly kill themselves were to touch it.

But, Fluttershy could recall what Zecora said about the plant, on how it could repel or even kill powerful supernatural monsters, and it was second only to silver in that regard.

Fluttershy knew just what to do.

She trotted over to her animal care supplies and pulled out some disposable latex hoof gloves and put them on. She then picked up the pot and flew over to her kitchen. She set the pot down and brought out a tea kettle that was used to give water to the animals instead of actual tea making. She filled the kettle with water.

Now came the dangerous part.

Fluttershy made sure the gloves had no holes in them, then proceeded to pull the plants up out of the pot.

All that needed to happen was for her to touch any part of the plant. There was no medical services anymore, so if she screws up, she's dead.

Fluttershy removed her gloves and reached into her saddle bag. She carefully grasped the knife from the house Golden Harvest hid in and grabbed another pair of gloves and put them on. She laid the plants onto a cutting board and went to work, carefully slicing the roots off the plants. She then put them in the kettle, and began to heat the kettle.

Fluttershy then took the knife and carefully wrapped it in cloth, knowing that the knife retained some of the poisons. She then opened a plastic bag and tied it as soon as she placed the knife in it. She then put it in her bag.

Fluttershy then went up stairs and opened her medicine cabinet. She grabbed some antibiotics and penicillin, some bandages and stiches and put them in her saddle bag. She then grabbed some vials of medicine that was only used for the animas if they had a cold, and dumped the contents down the bathroom sink. She rinsed them out, a total of five vials is what she had.

She went back downstairs and took the heated kettle off the stove. She lined up the vials on the counter.

Fluttershy grabbed a large cup from her cabinets and grapped a strainer, so the root peices don't get caught in the vials. She poured the poisonous liquid through the strainer, and into the cup. When the kettle became empty, Fluttershy put it and the strainer down in the sink. She then grabbed the cup of poison and began to pour it into the vials. As soon as that was done, Fluttershy re-corked the vials.

She finally had a way to truly defend herself.

Fluttershy put her vials of Wolfsbane into her nearly full saddle bag. She trotted out to the door, took a deep breath, and went out the door.

Fluttershy spread her wings, and shot skyward, flying over the swampy area tha was the outskirts of Ponyville. She headed straight for Twilight’s Castle of Friendship, trying not to look at the swampy land of the living dead below her.

She landed on the grand balcony of the castle. She went through the door.

(&&&)

The place wasn't a mess at all, which made Fluttershy’s mind feel a lot at ease. It was still the same as the last time she visited.

Fluttershy made her way to Twilight’s personal library, intent on finding the book. She searched the rows for more than twenty minutes before she found what she was looking for.

She carefully pulled the book from the shelf and read the title out loud, “History of Blackened Hoof manor; a comprehensive guide to the legend.”

Fluttershy carefully opened the book. The warm scent of an old book wafted to her snout, which was a lot better than smelling corpses or swamps. She decided to read the introduction to the book.

She started reading.

“Blackened Hoof manor, never in Equestria has a mansion ever been associated with evil and darkness like this one has. It's an ancient abomination from a not-so-ancient time, filled with bitterness and anger and bloodshed, spanning hundreds of years. I, the author of this book, will attempt to open the veils of darkness that has so carefully covered the truth, shielding it from the light. I have dug-

Fluttershy heard something.

Fluttershy put the book into her bag when she saw a shadow standing in the middle of the hall that lead to the library.

“W-who's there?”

The figure responded by putting itself in the light.

It was Spike, a good friend to all the Mane Six. His scales were as pale as snow, and his eyes glowed red.

Fluttershy started to back away in terror as Spike parted his lips, revealing blood-stained teeth. He hissed like a cat with rabies and began to advance.

“I'm so thirsty… my throat feels like its roasting over hot coals. Good thing you came along, I haven't had a good drink in days,” he said with an evil glint in his eyes of red.

Fluttershy was practically hyperventilating as sheer terror washed over her like a tsunami. She quickly pulled out one of her Wolfsbane vials and said, “s-s-stay back. I-I mean it!”

Spike hissed and continued to move forward, his eyes glowing as he stared at her.

He stopped when he was ten feet in front of her, licking his lips, anticipation driving his mind over the edge.

“I wonder, Fluttershy. Does your blood taste like coward?”

Spike then lunged forward, his teeth flashing as the lightning crashed.

Fluttershy threw the vial with all her might, hoping that her Wolfsbane concoction will work.

The poisonous liquid surged from the vial as it broke against Spike’s face, causing third degree burns.

Spike let out a blood-curdling scream as the poison caused his scales to burn and smoke. He hopped out the window, and crashed into the swamp below.

Fluttershy galloped over to the window to see if Spike was okay, (even though she knew he was not.)

When she looked out the window, he wasn't there.

His terrible laughter echoed throughout the Castle of Friendship.

“You almost killed me, Fluttershy. But soon, you will suffer the same fate as I!”

His laughter seemed to be getting closer, and as it did, it began to sound more and more demonic.

Fluttershy spread her wings and flew ibto the air, going as fast as she could, and ignoring the bite on her right front leg.

All the while, was completely unaware that a certain wisp was watching her fly to the horizon. Carrot Top could only watch. Soon as Fluttershy was outside her vision, she transformed into her wisp form, and began the wait for another lost soul.