Author's Note
I hope you enjoy!!! Any thoughts, questions, and concerns please place in the comments. Thank you!!
The Happening
It is not uncommon to see Fluttershy around town, especially surrounded by her friends. She is always busy buying materials for her animal friends, home maintenance, or even defeating some evil being bent on world domination. She is always willing to help in some way too, though she can't do hard labour, she can help a flock of Breezes through her hometown just as one example. Fluttershy is without a doubt one of the sweetest ponies anypony would have the pleasure of meeting.
She was walking through Ponyville later in the day walking towards Twilight's castle for a sleepover. She was rather excited too because it had been the first one planned since Pinkie, Snails, and she started the Buckball team with Applejack. She was trotting eagerly down the streets of Ponyville, partly because she lost track of time feeding the animals and didn't want to be on the streets at night, and partly for the aspect of the sleepover. As she trotted, she noticed more and more how empty the town was. She picked up her pace to a slow gallop as a result. "Wait! Can you help me!?" she heard from behind and stopped in her tracks immediately.
Turning, she saw a light red mare with a light yellow mane and light brown eyes running towards her. "Oh, my! What's the problem?" Fluttershy asked.
"My name is Gemstone Glisten! And I'm being hunted by creepy stallions!" the mare exclaimed, panting.
"Oh! I'll take you to my friend, she's a princess and can hide you!" Fluttershy said urgently.
"NO!" she shouted. "That's too far, they'll catch up!" she insisted. "Please, help me! Anywhere else!"
"The Sugarcube Corner! It's close, follow me," Fluttershy explained, turning left and running.
"Thank you! Oh, thank you!" Gemstone Glisten cried out with joy.
Glisten was lead into an alleyway where she saw Fluttershy exposed and scared. She then jumped on top of Fluttershy, frightening her immensely. She could feel the struggle her victim had underneath her body and she loved it. "Ah, Glisten! You caught us a prey after all," said a voice from ahead. Fluttershy was so in shock, her voice was nowhere to be seen. She had no idea what was going on or why, but she had to get away.
"I did, Topaz, what a bite?" Glisten said, smiling at the stallion who spoke. He was grey with the main colour of Paraiba. As he closed the gap between him and the mares, the sunset went completely down. Showing his eyes, once light brown, now a vibrant red. She looked up at Glisten, and her eyes too went from light brown to vibrant red. That is when Fluttershy screamed.
Or at least, opened her mouth and let out a croak. For before she could react, Fluttershy had a mouth full of hoof, and a stinging sensation in her neck from the stallion biting into her neck and sucking on her blood. The stinging went to small, to intense, to numb in a short amount of time as Glisten joined in. She didn't remember passing out, but suddenly she awakens to a thick, sweet liquid dripping on her tongue and down her throat. And she felt ravenous for more. Grabbing the source and shoving it in her mouth, she sucked on it harder and with more intensity than it was coming out.
"There, there, Sweet Citrine, open your eyes and start your life anew," a voice said, unrecognizable from the others, but Fluttershy opened her eyes as instructed. She saw a new red pony with a deep pink mane with red streaks and vibrant red eyes removing his hoof from her mouth. She felt the blood fall down her face. "Get up, Sweet Citrine, and greet your new family," the stallion continued. She got up.
Fluttershy looked and saw the moon up high in the sky, but could see easily in the dark. She looked around and sure enough, Gemstone Glisten and Topaz were still there. She flinched in fear of seeing them again. "Now look what you two done, you scared her half to death," the stallion observed, scolding the two of them, but still looking at Fluttershy.
"We're sorry, Red Ruby, we were just hunting," Glisten says shamefully.
"We didn't mean to upset you," Topaz explained, equally ashamed.
"Don't apologize to me, Topaz Shine and Gemstone Glisten, apologize to your new sister!" Red Ruby scolded.
As the two apologized to Fluttershy, it became clear to her that when they said 'Sweet Citrine', they were talking to her! "Um, actually, my name is Fluttershy," she whispered.
"No, not anymore, your mine now, and your name is Sweet Citrine!" Red Ruby explained, gently but with authority.
She nodded unwillingly. As if she was under a spell. She looked around anxiously, wondering what to do now. "Come now, Sweet Citrine. We have far to go and the night won't last forever," Red Ruby explained once more, and then he turned and Fluttershy could see his wings. They were bigger than the average wing size of a stallion, almost as big as Twilight's! But with longer, thinner feathers. She was amazed to see each of them turned, they all had the same type of wings. Not going with them, Fluttershy started talking. "Um," she said.
"No time for that, my dear, we must leave," Red Ruby said. Once again, Fluttershy felt her nod involuntarily and this time started walking towards the ponies. Naturally, she would have been scared, but she felt like she was under some kind of trance as she followed the ponies through the alley, through town, towards Sweet Apple Acres, past Sweet Apple Acres, and into the Ever Free Forest. And suddenly, the trance fell off of her like water. "We will stay here for the day. Tomorrow night, we go home," Red Ruby said, pointing at a cave that Fluttershy had never seen before.
She followed them into the cave, this time of her own will because of fear, and the directions to get back to Ponyville and her friends seemed fuzzy and unclear in her head. She was trapped.
"Now, my dear now is the time for questions," Red Ruby explained, turning around to face her again.
"Who- who are you?" Fluttershy found herself asking the question before thinking about it.
"I am Red Ruby. A bat pony. The King of my tribe!" he said proudly.
"Tribe?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yes! Tribe! There are five main bat pony tribes in Equestria with smaller ones scattered here and there. What makes the five main ones special though, is me and the other kings. We were the first bat ponies of creation. Me, Azule Blaze, Echo Nocturn, Pada Paho, and Saphire Saranade are the kings of all bat ponies." Red Ruby explained.
"H-how?" Fluttershy continued.
"An experimental immortality spell turned curse by none other than Clover the Clever in the years after the founding of Equestria. Do you ever wonder whatever happened to her? Why no pony knows how she died? We are the answer," Red Ruby told Fluttershy.
Fluttershy was shocked. "Who- who knows about these tribes?" she asked, barely able to get the words out.
"Only our enemies. The ponies don't know a thing," Topaz said.
"Who are your -" Fluttershy started, but was cut off.
"The Changlings and the Chimeras. Though, we're not on good terms with the Nocturn Tribe either," Glisten said.
"Now, now, what have I told you about interrupting ponies, Gemstone Glisten?" Red Ruby scolded.
"My apologies, sir. My apologies, Sweet Citrine," Glisten said, bowing her head.
"I apologize on her behalf as well, Sweet Citrine, we have discussed many times about the rudeness of interrupting somepony a few times before," Red Ruby explained.
Fluttershy nodded blankly at the two. "I just have one more thing to ask for now," Fluttershy said, before correcting herself and said, "actually, two."
"What are they?" Red Ruby asked, already knowing the questions.
"Why me?" she asked.
"You have promise, my dear, we have scouted out many ponies from your town but none had enough potential as you did," Red Ruby explained. "I sent Gemstone Glisten after you because I knew you were willing to help her. As you must help us now," he continued.
"Will I ever see my friends again? Or my family again?" Fluttershy asked, hopefully.
"No. You now belong to the Ruby Tribe. Your life is to serve him and no one else," Topaz explained, a little harshly.
Fluttershy looked down sadly and tears started to form in her eyes.
"It's not so bad, you'll grow to love the tribe just as all the rest of us has. Afterall, Topaz here was the first Red Ruby turned and he's still around!" Glisten explained joyfully, seeing the sadness from her new sister's eyes.
Fluttershy was unsure, but she was now trapped and had no other choice but to follow their lead.
