Howling At The Moon
Chapter 1: Sleepless and Shaken
Awooooooo
The howls echo across the forest, as they did every night. Fluttershy was both terrified and relaxed by the sounds that broke up the silence of the night, lightly shaking the thin glass panes of her open window. She relished nights like these when the cool, rain soaked winds from the mountains rustled the leaves of the forest, forcing her curtains to whip around seemingly with the howls.
It was better than the snoring.
Fluttershy tried to drown out the roar in her ears as she laid in bed, her husband Blueblood laying halfway on top of her in a drooling, snoring pile. It was a set up that she was unfortunately used to with their nightly routine, as it had been for the last few months. A simple dinner in silence while he joked with business partners, a bit of cuddling on the couch around the hearth and then love making that left her feeling unfulfilled to say the least. And like most nights this is how it ended, with his loud snores drowning out all but the strongest of sounds as their naked bodies pressed against each other, Fluttershy trying to drown it all out and listen to the sounds of nature to get to sleep.
To little avail.
She sighs as she wipes a trail of drool from her neck and shoulder, gently pushing on him as she does. "Blueblood. Blueblood, please roll over."
A loud snort breaks his string of roars as he shifts a bit, freeing Fluttershy's petite frame while almost forcing her off the bed. A rude, but admittedly welcome opportunity.
She gets to her feet and stretches, taking the opportunity to pull her silk robe off of the bed before it became trapped. Fluttershy wrapped the fabric around herself before stepping over to the large window overlooking the courtyard below. The moon overhead cast shadows of all shapes and sizes over the many hedges and sapling that lined the marbled walkways. Spotty areas of flowers of all colors bloomed and flared out despite the chilling mountain air rushing over them.
She takes a deep breath as the breeze blows through the windows once again, the fresh air stinging her nostrils with a welcome freshness that the home could never provide. She lets out a sigh of relief before she jumps a bit in surprise, her wings flaring out just a bit.
Awoooooooooo
'Oh. Another wolf calling out is all.' She thinks to herself before looking out at the wall that takes up the back end of the courtyard. It rises almost to the top of the rather large mansion, the logs that make up it's solid state dwarfing most of the pillars that decorated the courtyard in both length and width. She looks on it with a slight frown.
The stories were fresh on her mind. Monsters of unimaginable strength. Eldritch horrors that would destroy your mind with just the tiniest of glances their direction. Beings so vicious and terrifying that they would kill you, no matter if you were as strong as an ox or as fragile as a little filly. Her hair stood on end and the feathers on her wings ruffled at the thought of the nightmares that lay beyond that barrier.
Yet part of her was curious.
Curious not of the monsters or of the horrors, but of the world beyond the wall. The same wall she had grown up with for twenty three years. The same wall that let out merchants who were only ever seen again in bits and pieces. The same wall that some of her friends scaled long ago and never returned from. It sent shivers up her spine in fear, but the possible wonders that the forest and the mountains beyond held and the secrets that they kept were tantalizing to her. Like the most delectable slice of cake she had ever seen in the market as a child.
Another snore snapped her out of her daydream and brought her back to reality. Here she was, standing at the window again and watching a wooden wall in hopes that something would happen. Something that never did.
With one more glance over the courtyard she shuts the window and makes her way back to bed, glad to see she has some space to try and get some sleep on. She climbs in and throws the covers over her body, the down in the pillow poking through the silk case and poking her lightly as she adjusts it. She gives one more glance out at the moon as it drifts down toward the horizon, letting her eyes fall shut and her mind fade into darkness, one final howl greeting her goodnight.
Awooooooooo
Run. That's all Fluttershy could do. The pain shooting through her as pointed sticks and jagged rocks dug into her feet didn't matter. The racing of her heart and the shallowness of her breath didn't matter. Another roar behind her told her that it would be nothing compared to what she would experience if she didn't keep up the pace.
The forest stretched on in front of her for what seemed like eternity, every tree looking the same and every whip on her body as she ran through tree limbs stinging just the same. An endless, savage labyrinth that seemed to close in with every step.
Each step seemed to bring the beast closer and closer, no matter what she did it always seemed to find her. She didn't dare look back to see what it was. She didn't want to see the monster that was about to rip her apart. A sharp sting radiated across her back as a set of massive claws slashed at her, the momentum knocking her hard against a nearby tree with a sickening crack.
She couldn't feel anything, the pain in her body going numb in an instant. She honestly couldn't tell if it was the tree that snapped or her own back. She cried as she struggled in vain to move, her arms and legs disobeying her and barely twitching as she lay on the forest floor. Blood trickled across her back, and what couldn't stain it's way into her night gown dripped onto the moss and debris.
A snap of the foliage in front of her drew her fading vision to a massive black paw creeping over the ground towards her. The snarling grew louder and louder the closer it got, a speeding steam train seemingly roaring it's way down the tracks at her. The beast leaned it's head down towards her, drool spilling across her face as she tried to run, to move, to crawl. Anything but stay here.
She closed her eyes as the beast reared back and howled, it's call echoing off the trees in a demonic chorus of death. Her last sight was that of shining white fangs racing towards her face and snapping down before-
"Madame!"
Fluttershy screamed as she snapped awake in her bed, sweat pouring down her face in buckets. She looked around the room, blinding herself with the sunlight streaming through the open curtains. As her eyes focused she could see someone standing in front of her, holding a tray almost as bright as the sun itself.
Saffron Masala quickly sat down the tray, dusting her uniform off as she did and got closer to her panicking mistress. "Madame, madame. Calm yourself, please. It's only me. Deep breaths."
Fluttershy tried to slow down her breathing as her vision adjusted, finally able to make our her outline as the brightness faded. Each breath became slower and slower until she no longer felt light headed. She tried to sit up, but Saffron gently forced her right back down. "No no madame, lay there and relax until you are calm."
"S-saffron I am calm. I-I just had a bad d-dream." She said between each of her breaths, her childhood stutter slipping out as her panic begins to subside more and more. She looks over at her valet, who was beginning to set out her clothing for the day while keeping a sharp eye on her. Saffron was good at keeping her in line when necessary, as she had found out on several other occasions.
Saffron came back over to the bed with a dress and a few bits of undergarments, laying each out over the end of the bed before picking up the tray once more. "Are you calm now?"
Fluttershy looked at her and slowly nodded, Saffron looking her over carefully. When she was sure that her lady was fine, she nodded back and sat the tray across her lap. "Master Blueblood had an early morning meeting to attend to and he thought you would enjoy breakfast in bed before you accompany him to the town meeting and the festival this evening."
'Right, the Festival of Harvest is tonight.' She thought with an audible sigh. 'Maybe he'll actually accompany me this time instead of running off to play politician.'
"Madame? Is everything alright?"
Fluttershy snapped back out of her mind, taking a moment to sit up. "Yes, yes everything is fine Saffron. Thank you." She looks at the breakfast spread in front of her. A small feast of fresh fruits and pancakes, even some things she didn't know exactly what they were. "This looks wonderful."
"Thank you, madame. I will be sure to give the Cakes your complements."
"Thanks you." She gave her a small smile and a nod, Saffron taking that as her signal to leave. She gave a small bow before walking out of the room and leaving Shy alone.
Most of the time she hated being alone but sometimes it was a blessing. This time was definitely the latter. As she lifted her fork and tried to take a bite of her breakfast, she couldn't shake the mental image of the beast from her dreams. She couldn't place exactly what it was, nor had she ever seen anything like it. Even the most terrifying images in her childhood picture books couldn't match to whatever that thing was.
She gave her head a quick shake and tried to push it out of her mind. Her arms and wings cracked and popped a bit as she stretched them, getting the blood flowing and trying to relax a bit before taking a bite of her food and trying to enjoy her morning.
Author's Note
A new year and a new story to tell.
This is definitely going to be a story I want to finish. It's one that I've planned out much more than I ever thought I could with a story, and It's a tale that we could use in this day and age.
One of acceptance despite hatred and bigotry, proving that sometimes the worst monsters can be the people we think we are the closest to.
I hope you all enjoy it and I would love some feedback.
