Fluttershy woke from her sleep, not with a yawn, not with a whimper, but with a piercing shriek that shattered the silence of the early morning.
Trembling under her sheets, she stared at the ceiling, taking deep shuddering breaths. Her mane hung limply over her face, drenched in a cold sweat much like the rest of her. The sound of her heart pounded in her chest and in her ears, like the heart of a dying bird struck by a stone. She wiped the sweat off her brow and sat up, allowing herself one last whimper.
Her room sat looking the way as it should. Sunlight poured into her room from her window. Every furniture, belonging, and speck of dust remained as it was the day before. As her breathing softened and her heart slowed, she let out one last deep breath.
“It’s only a dream.”
But then, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of something. Turning slowly, she stared at the long dark figure that stretched from her bed to the floor. Her shadow stared back at her. Something felt off. Something that usually goes unnoticed when not under one’s constant scrutiny. Something darker, more terrifying than the reality perceived by the everyday eye.
A gut feeling kicked inside her, like a grotesque newborn conceived from fear and instinct, telling her that for her own sake that she does not take her eyes off her shadow, as if at any moment it might lunge at her.
“A-Angel,” she called quietly at first, unsure of what to do. When one is at their most vulnerable, they seek the presence of another, even though it might not quell their fears or improve the situation, but at least to know they won’t be alone in such a dreadful situation.
“Angel!” Fluttershy called louder.
A little white hare came scurrying into the room, looking at her worriedly.
As Angel hopped closer to her bedside, edging closer to her silhouette, she screamed louder than she has ever screamed before, “STOP!”
He startled in his tracks, scurrying away at the first look of her face.
Her hooves shot to her mouth. What had gotten over her? In some way, was it a natural instinct that she stopped Angel from stepping on her shadow? What horror awaited her if she ignored those warnings? Another worrying thought: what did it say about her subconscious?
She had to ponder about this. She could shut herself in her cottage for all eternity, hiding in the safety of her bedroom, but there was only problem with that idea. She had run out of food for the week.
“I need to go to the market,” she said aloud.
As she began to turn around, watching as her shadow veer closer to her peripheral, a chilling shock ran up her spine. A sudden sense of dread overwhelmed her, forcing her to look back at her shadow. She couldn’t even let her shadow leave her sight. This was going to be problematic...
Taking careful steps back, she traveled into the hallway, never keeping her shadow past her peripheral. When she reached the stairs, she paused before taking a step back. Halfway down, her left hindleg slipped. Her wings shot open, beating furiously to keep her balance. As much as she wanted to turn around, she couldn’t. The hard feeling of the floor makes an impact on her back.
“Oh, dear...” she muttered as she whimpered on the floor.
~~~~~~~
The market was busy. Vendors called out to customers as they tried to sell their wares. Some are preoccupied in heated discussions with haggling ponies. The ponies in the market, however, stopped to stare at Fluttershy as she traversed through the crowd, rear end first. Hot embarrassment burned her cheeks, threatening to spill out in tears, as she jumped and sidestepped every pony that got too close. The sun was on her back, casting a shadow in front of her.
After tossing a hoof full of bits for the cherries she bought behind her, much to the seller’s growing irritation, a voice cut through the bustle of the market.
“Heya Fluttershy!” Applejack’s voice rang out, a familiar face beaming at her through the crowd.
Smiling, Fluttershy started towards her, only to remember her predicament and walk towards the apple seller at a snail’s pace, skirting around the market crowd.
Applejack raised a brow but continues on, ignoring Fluttershy’s peculiar way of walking. “How are ya? Shopping for grocery?”
“Oh, um, yes,” Fluttershy said, trying to meet her gaze while keeping an eye on her shadow, which now rested in front of her and against the side of the apple cart.
“Same amount as usual?” Applejack asked, getting out a paper bag for the apples.
“Actually,” Fluttershy began to say, “I’d like a bushel this time, if you don’t mind.”
The paper bag dropped to the ground by a surprised Applejack. “A bushel? That’s a whole lotta apples.”
“On second thought, make that two bushels,” Fluttershy added. “Maybe three.”
Applejack let out a whistle. “Landsakes, I didn’t know you like my apples that much. Quite a lot for just one pony. You sure about this?”
Fluttershy’s gaze focused intently on her shadow, purposely averting Applejack’s eyes. “Yes. I’ll be busy at home for a while,” she said, avoiding the subject of the reason behind it. If any of her friends found out her reason, not only would it be weirdly embarrassing, but the thought of being around a dozen investigators, psychiatrists, and doctors and the possibility one of them might step on her shadow filled her with anxiety.
“Well in that case, how about I go over and deliver these apples with Big Mac by your place later?” Applejack asked. “Can’t leave the stand alone, and I’m not lettin’ ya carry all of these by yourself.”
“That would be wonderful,” Fluttershy said, taking out a coin purse from her saddlebags and pulling out another hoof full of bits onto the counter. Her coin purse was nearly empty at this point.
Applejack shoved half the bits towards Fluttershy. “For you, I’ll give a discount. Throw in that third bushel free.”
Fluttershy took the bits back. “Thank you, Applejack.” She took note of the position of her shadow again and noticed that it had moved with the sun again.
Just as she turned around, aligning her body with her shadow and taking a few steps, Applejack’s voice rang out again. “Good luck keeping other ponies away from your shadow,” she said out of the blue.
Fluttershy turned her head slightly, keeping her shadow in the corner of her eyes. “What did you say, Applejack?”
Applejack gave an odd look. “I didn’t say anything.”
Anxiety gripped her heart at hearing those perturbing words. If Applejack hadn’t said that, then who did? Her eyes shot towards her shadow, and a new fear sprung from it. Was it something that her shadow was capable of or was it a product of her mind, weary from the constant attentiveness? Whatever it was, she had to get this shopping done quickly.
As the sun crept past noon, her eyes stared at her own hooves, and the dark pool of her shadow surrounded her.
She kept close to the walls where ponies wouldn’t cross her path and surprise her. Ponies that came close to stepping on her shadow, she flew away as fast as she could. Avoiding them came easy with years of practice. She had already learned to avoid the more crowded streets, and she grew used to flying backwards and sideways as the day progressed. But the longer the day went, it became much harder to keep her shadow out of ponies’ reach.
Now stretching longer than she is tall, Fluttershy’s shadow stood before her like a strange, elongated creature. Something would move in the corner of her eyes, and thinking it was a pony, she sidestepped out of the way, only to realize there was no one there. Sometimes she thought she saw her shadowy figure change into different shapes. Was it her mind playing tricks on her or has the thing lurking in her shadow learned how to deceive her in new and crueler ways?
Looking haggard and worn, she felt like she was going crazy. She allowed herself another whimper and stopped to consider her options. She could turn around and let whatever horror come or continue this torture. When the sun dipped behind Canterlot mountain, the electric lamp beside her lit up as she walked the empty road. The light shined on her face, forcing her to hold a hoof over her eyes.
Shining on her face… Where was it casting her shadow now?
She stood rigid. The dark outline of her body that was once in front of her vanished. Her back was turned to the new location of her shadow.
Something breathed down her neck.
A chilling presence made itself known by the drop in temperature behind her back. Her fur bristled as if something brushed against the hairs of her coat. An ominous thought entered her head as if coming from behind her. Turn around. It said. There is nothing you can do that can be done. Nothing you can say that can be said, except one last exultant shout before you go silent forever.
Her breaths came out slow and shuddered with each sob. Why was it so cold? And where had every pony gone? Alone and afraid, she closed her wet eyes to shut out her fears and make everything go away, but when she did, she saw to her horror everything she had to fear and much worse.
At last like a light in the dark, Pinkie’s voice came from behind. “Hey Fluttershy, why are standing like that?”
Her shoulders relaxed as the tension seeped out of her. She turned around and opened her eyes. “It’s nothing, Pink--”
Pinkie was nowhere in sight and what she found behind her was most certainly not her friend. Instead, it was something equally terrifying, if not more, than anything the pony mind can come up with.
~~~~~~~
Fluttershy woke from her sleep, not with a yawn, not with a whimper, but with a piercing shriek that shattered the silence of the early morning.
Author's Note
Really seems more random than dark in my opinion, but with the way it ended, I just ended up putting both tags. Came up with the idea from the question: "what's a good strange but inconvenient fear for a story?" After that, I just set some rules for Fluttershy. The rest was rushed but at least I'm writing something.
