Chapter Four: Sorrow, and Hope.

Fluttershy smelled it… she could smell the scent of an unnaturally sweet scent wafting in the air.

Her eyes shot open, and frantically looked around for the source of the smell.

It was a puddle, a puddle of Celestia knows what. However, Fluttershy didn't care what it was, as long as it quenched the inferno in her throat.

She got up and staggered over to the puddle. She practically slammed her own head into the puddle and began to gulp down the liquid.

She liked the feel of the thick and sweet liquid run down her throat, soothing the inferno almost instantly. However, a new trait, greed, was making her drink more. As she gulped down the savory sweet liquid, a voice said, “finally awake, eh?”

Fluttershy turned her head to the pony that was shouting her name when Roseluck abandoned her. She stared at the mask on its face, the red macabre mask of a skeleton. She couldn't tell if it was a mare or stallion, for the mask distorted its voice. Long, shaggy locks of mane-hair snaked out of the hood of the pony. The pony’s cloak was lined with throwing knives. The cloak covered the pony’s body and cutie mark.

“Who are y-you?!” Fluttershy said with a squeak.

The pony responded, “I would be more concerned about yourself, bearer of kindness.”

The pony tossed a mirror at Fluttershy, who caught the mirror with her teeth, careful not to break the glass.

She grasped the mirror with her hoof, and she slowly held the mirror to her face.

Her eyes widened as she saw her new self for the first time.

“W-what am I?!”

The masked pony simply shook his head and said, “dead. I guess undead is the more correct term here. In other words, you have joined the ranks of the many evils that plague this land.”

Fluttershy looked down, tears streaming from her eyes, “how did this happen?”

“Nopony escapes the plague, the corruption, the evil that roam the land. It was bound to happen, sooner or later. Even now, your friends are slowly succumbing to the twisted magics that radiate from Blackedhoof manor.”

Fluttershy looked up, and through her flooding eyes, she saw bat-winged ponies flying about in the sky, with a cloud of bats following them. They were heading in the direction of Canterlot.

The masked pony turned away and said, “you don’t get it, do you?” He held out his hoof, pointing to the piles of bodies that littered the land.

“The land you once called home is twisting into a shadowy land that devours all. Everypony is being twisted into a creature of the most terrifying of stories. Werewolves, zombies, and the plague are only a fraction of what will come. Equestria is all but lost. Even the other kingdoms and empires of the world will be consumed by the corrupted darkness, and the world will be filled with the undead until the end of time.”

The masked pony turned to Fluttershy and said, “even you, the element of kindness, is now a fallen shadow, a testament that even Harmony cannot stop this deluge of death and destruction. It is only a matter of time before the rest of the six, and even the alicorns, submit to the encroaching evils.”

Fluttershy asked, “is there anything I can do? Did Luna really send me on a suicide quest to a manor that will ultimately… turn us all?”

“Luna sent me here to give you her advice, for the fell magics that curse this land has severed her ability to communicate with the other ponies she sent to help you, and others in the quest for the mansion.”

Fluttershy stammered “what happened to them?”

“Torn apart by werewolves, eaten by zombies, tricked by wisps, fed upon by vampires, scared to death by ghosts, the list goes on. You are the last of them all the ponies, only you remain to stand against the undead hordes.”

Fluttershy looked around, seeing bodies, fog and hearing faint howls in the distance. She could see the occasional zombie shambling around, looking for fresh corpses. She could feel the damp, cool air that blew ominously, and could see the lights of wisps in the far distance.

“We are done for… aren't we?”

“That is why i’m here. Luna has sent me to tell you information, the only chance we have of defeating this eldritch nightmare.”

He continued, “in an addition to the healing book, there is an artifact that may have the ability to cleanse the darkness, and restore Equestria to itself.”

Fluttershy’s eyes lit up with hope, “what is it then? I must know!”

The red masque pony said, “the Angel’s Herald, an ancient nail used as an holy relic of sorts from the creation days. Somehow, the Whitehoofs’ got their hooves on it and stored it in the chapel built on their grounds. If you awakened the angel said to be inside of it, its holy power could reverse the damage the eldritch abominations did to this land.”

The masked pony began to walk away.

“Wait! You can't leave me!” Fluttershy cried. The pony continued to trot, leaving Fluttershy alone with a choice:

Continue to the manor…

...Or turn around and go home.

Fluttershy looked behind herself to the puddle of the crimson liquid and noticed something she had failed to see before.

Next to the puddle, was the cut open corpse of Vinyl Scratch. Her face had the same gold and black eyes Fluttershy had, and her mouth was twisted into a snarl that revealed her sharp fangs. Her chest was pierced with a wooden stake, and her corpse was drained of blood, the blood being the puddle of crimson liquid.

Fluttershy hung her head in defeat. She turned and began to walk towards the manor.

As she did, the red-masked pony looked on. Besides the pony was another pony, a unicorn.

“It seems that Luna did not forsee her becoming that… thing.”

The red masked pony nodded in agreement, “indeed. However, she is slowly breaking underneath the darkness. It is possible that she will completely lose it and turn on what remains civilization has. You better hope that your act of rescuing her does not come back to bite you in the ass.”

The unicorn stallion dipped his head, “it will not, I assure it.”

The red masked pony looked towards Fluttershy’s miniature figure as she continued to make her way towards the manor. He sat there for a moment, then turned to the unicorn.

“Then you shall follow her. If she turns against us, kill her. If she encounters Roseluck again, don’t interfere. If she falls, continue her quest.”

The unicorn knelt before the red masked pony, “as you command.”

The unicorn got up and began to follow Fluttershy.

“Ashen.”

The unicorn turned and said, “yes, my master?”

“Don’t fail me.”

Ashen Spectre nodded and then galloped away to trail the element of kindness.

(^*^)

Fluttershy continued to trot down another lonely path in a forest, lamenting her unfortunate fate. She still continued to see bodies by the path, munched on, decaying and infested with flies.

Wisps floated around the trees, cackling and speaking in hushed tones. None dared to go near her, nor speak with her. They all could sense what she was, and as a result, let her be.

Fluttershy sloshed through coagulated blood puddles left over from various werewolf kills and their mutilated victims. She could smell the enticing scent of blood, and it took all her willpower to not drink from the cup of death.

But, that was when she heard the sound of a violin up ahead.

Her pace quickened, and became a full gallop as she went up the road to locate the source of the sound.

She found the source…

It was Octavia.

The earth pony was on the side of the road, playing a violin as she gazed tearfully at a tree.

Fluttershy approached Octavia, and squeaked out a “hi”

Octavia turned and saw her, and only nodded glumly. She turned back to the tree she was staring at, and continued to play.

Fluttershy looked at the tree and saw a crude carving engraved in the bark. It was a capital V next to a capital O. Underneath was a sentence:

best friends 4 ever.

“We made that when we were fillies,” Octavia said as she continued to play her sad melody, “now it's my final memory of her… and now I play my final song.”

“Final song-” Fluttershy began, but then noticed the knife at Octavia’s side.

“My final song…” Octavia said again, her voice cracking.

Fluttershy now knew what Octavia was planning to do after she finished her final song.

“Octavia, you really can't be considering-”

Octavia cut her off, saying, “you don't understand. I can't live with without her. She has been my best friend since my very first memory. A world without her is no world I want to live in.”

“Surely you know that Vinyl-”

“DON'T speak her name. It was because of your kind that she wound up dead. Your kind’s fault for turning her. Your kind’s fault for forcing me to kill her to save my life!”

Fluttershy straightened up and said in her best commanding voice, (which wasn’t much), “killing yourself because you were forced to take the life of a friend is no excuse to commit suicide! Vinyl would have wanted you to live, or would of offered her life to keep you safe from anypony that wished you harm, even if it was herself!”

Octavia finished her song, and grabbed the knife.

Fluttershy leaped at her, knocking the knife out of her hoof and tackling the musical mare. They tumbled into a ditch that was on the side of the road, Octavia biting and kicking as they hit the bottom.

The knife was nowhere to be found, and Octavia continued to bite and kick.

Fluttershy raised her her fore hoof and punched Octavia in the face, stunning the mare.

It was dead silent for a bit, then Octavia began to quietly weep.

“All I want is her to come back… that's all I want.”

Fluttershy helped her get back on her four hooves.

After picking twigs out of Octavia’s mane, Fluttershy said, “Vinyl would want you to stay alive, she would want you to remain strong.”

“How can I? How can I live my life without her?!” Octavia asked as she continued to cry.

“You keep on going and wait. You will see her again, even if its not in this life.”

Octavia looked at the tree, and continued to weep.

“Look, I may have found a way to bring back all the live that were taken during this whole event.”

Octavia looked at her with sorrowful, hopeful eyes and said, “R-really?”

Fluttershy nodded, “yep. I have to find a relic in Blackened Hoof manor. This relic is said to have the power to reverse the effects of evil and revive the dead.”

“Really?!”

“Really.”

Octavia looked at the carvings on the tree again, then looked back at Fluttershy.

“Then… I will wait. I will wait by her corpse and pray and hope. If you can revive her, then I will wait.”

Fluttershy raised an eye, “promise me that you will not take your own life, and It shall be done.”

Octavia nodded, “I promise.”

Fluttershy began to trot away from Octavia, heading for the manor.

“Wait, and Vinyl will be revived.”

Octavia nodded and trotted towards the direction of Vinyl’s body. And Fluttershy looked behind herself it time to see the fog swallow Octavia.

Fluttershy continued to walk towards the manor, dread increasing every step closer

Author's Note

Yeah, sorry for the short chapter. More coming soon.