The Quiet Game

by Jimbob

Rating: teen
Tags: Sad, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Horror, Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle, Violence, Dark, Death
Length: 4624

Fluttershy is in danger. A crazy Twilight has forced her into a test she cannot quit. All she has to do is stay quiet.

WARNING: Although this story does not contain explicit gore, it contains some implicit gore and violence.

A 2 part darkfic in which Twilight goes completely crazy after Fluttershy causes her most recent mission to fail. Fluttershy is forced into a test. To stay quiet for the rest of her life so that Twilight can sort things out or she will be banished to the Everfree Forest, without being able to leave. But this test has a twist. Many of Twilight's illusions will get in the way, and attempt to scare Fluttershy. Will Fluttershy survive this twisted game, or will she be left and forgotten in the Everfree Forest?

The sequel to this story has been cancelled!

Published 2018-08-23 02:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2018-08-26 13:59:21 UTC

1-1: It's All Over for Twilight

"But, Princess Cel-"

"GO! Now. You do not qualify to be a princess. Now everypony in the Crystal Empire is dead. You are lucky Cadence survived. Her child too."

Twilight slowly walked away from Celestia, her head drooping and tears emerging from her eye. She felt like she was carrying a thousand bricks on her back. Uncomfortable, like something wasn't right. What had she done wrong to deserve this? She hadn't done anything. She was being good old responsible Twilight, like always.

Then she remembered.

It was Fluttershy who caused all this in the first place. She was the one who was being "sent mixed messages" and destroyed the top of the tower. Twilight was the one who kept up, and Fluttershy flew back into it by "accident". Twilight remembered it so clearly. That was the moment her wings were sliced off by that large piece of stained glass windows. The pain seared up her body to her head, and she screamed loudly. Her friends didn't even notice. Fluttershy didn't even notice.

When she came back from the hospital, everyponyacted like it was her fault, but it wasn't. Something was different about Fluttershy. But nothing was different, Twilight would soon discover.

As she made her way back to her library, still in a depressed/furious state, Rainbow Dash flew over to her at an almost super-sonic speed, and landed in front of her, skidding against the moist dirt.

"What do you think you're doing? I bet Spike wouldn't want to see you either! Everypony in this town hates you, so Spike should as well!" Rainbow Dash yelled as she trotted closer, forcing Twilight to walk backwards also.

"Spike is a very reasonable dragon! I'm sure he would understand it wasn't my fault." Twilight argued as she pushed past Rainbow Dash and entered her library.

Spike was waiting, sitting on the stairs. Twilight expected him to hate her as much as everypony else, but surprisingly, he didn't.

"I can't believe Fluttershy did that. She didn't even say it was her, and she's the element of kindness!" Spike ranted. "It was so obvious it was her, but nopony paid any attention, and now you get all the heat? What did Celestia say?"

Twilight slowly inhaled, and said, "SHE SAID I COULDN'T BE A PRINCESS ANYMORE! How is she that stupid? SHE'S A PRINCESS!"

"SHE WHAT?" Spike exclaimed.

"Exactly! But I really need to get to bed. I have to figure out a way to solve this tomorrow."

But Twilight did not sleep that night. She kept thinking about what to do. She could not get anymore supplies, as nopony would sell her anything, hell, she couldn't even go in public. She stayed up all night trying to figure out if she could use a spell to reset all of the events with the death of everybody in the Crystal Empire or if she could reach out and force Fluttershy to admit it was her fault, but something kept coming up in her mind.

GET REVENGE ON FLUTTERSHY. MAKE HER PAY. MAKE HER SUFFER, NOT PHYSICALLY, MENTALLY.

Who are you? What are you? Am I going insane?

I AM YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS. WHATEVER I SAY IS WHAT GOES. YOU WANT THIS. I AM YOU. MAKE THE PONY PAY.

But how? I don't want to break her like she... NO. SHE DESERVES THIS. WHAT DO YOU HAVE IN MIND, OR WELL... MY MIND?

MAKE HER STAY QUIET. IT'S WHAT SHE DOES BEST, SO SHE WON'T BE WORRIED TO TAKE PART AT FIRST. BUT GIVE THIS LITTLE GAME A TWIST. SHE HATES BEING SCARED. DO WHAT YOU CAN TO SCARE HER. IF SHE FAILS, GIVE HER NOT DEATH, BUT SOMETHING THAT CAUSES DEATH. HOW ABOUT BANISHING HER TO THE EVERFREE FOREST? YES. THAT WOULD WORK NICELY.

Of course. But, this isn't me. BUT SHE DESERVES IT. Okay, I'll do it.

This was the moment Twilight cracked.

Author's Note

Thank you for reading the first chapter of this story! Hopefully I've written well enough for everypony's standards :twilightsmile:

1-2: The Game Begins

"Twilight? Are.. Are you oka-"

Twilight kicked Spike across the room. Spike hit a bookshelf, and some of the books fell and landed on his head. A bruise started to appear on his chest as he coughed constantly.

"I'm going to make Fluttershy pay, and no pony, zebra, weird animal hybrids or DRAGONS ARE GOING TO STOP ME! NOW GET TO YOUR BED AND DON'T COME OUT UNTIL I SAY SO, OR I'LL USE MY MAGIC ON YOU TOO!"

Spike struggled to get upstairs, but he still rushed to his small bed, to get away from Twilight. He knew deep down that he would somehow get pulled into the drama anyway. But he didn't know what Twilight was talking about. He didn't know what kind of drama he could possibly get into.

Twilight left the house, and set her destination to Fluttershy's home. She couldn't wait for her revenge, as for her, it would be sweeter than any revenge possible. When she finally made it to her friend's, or rather, ex-friend's home, she dove into the bushes and peered through her small window. She was trying to get all of her animals to sleep. Twilight put a stop to this and used a telepathic message spell on Fluttershy, which she had learnt just for this occasion. She also restricted her from moving.

Hello, my friend. I have a game for you after you ruined all my friendships and, well, MY ENTIRE LIFE. I THOUGHT YOU WERE THE ELEMENT OF KINDNESS.

W-Who is this? WHY ARE YOU IN MY HEAD? Y-You won't hurt me, right? Are you a ghost? Is this a dream?

OH NO. THIS IS A CERTAIN UNICORN YOU KNOW. HERE'S A HINT: THE ELEMENT OF MAGIC. THE ALICORN PRINCESS YOU WERE FRIENDS WITH BEFORE YOU LEFT ALL OF THE PRESSURE ON THEM WITH KILLING THE ENTIRE CRYSTAL EMPIRE?

Tw-tw-Twilight? Why would you do this? Are you blaming me? It was kinda your responsibility...

ENOUGH! Now, we are gonna play a game. You stay quiet for the rest of your life, or you go to the Everfree Forest and don’t return. You got that? It might seem weird, but it gives me the chance to speak the truth since you won’t be in the way. Am I clear?

yes... I admit, it was my fault. But I don’t want to go there. I need to take care of the-

Then you will do as I say. The game begins now. Good luck.

Twilight had never felt happier. It felt satisfying to give Fluttershy a piece of her mind. She couldn’t even remember her old friendly self anymore. Friendly Twilight was gone for now. Or maybe even forever. She felt even happier knowing that Fluttershy would fail too easily, as she always does.

2-1: The Invisible Wall

Author's Note

This is the beginning of Part 2. Part 2 is a more in-depth part of the story, and will take longer to write.

2-1: The Invisible Wall

“WHAT? It was a setup? This is all fake and I know it Twilight! Show yourself!”

Fluttershy felt anger for the first time in a while. She had never felt this angry.

“Okay, as you wish.” Twilight said as she emerged from the trees. Her mane was messy. She had bags under her eyes, as if she never slept since the game begun. Her horn was slightly cracked, and her leg was bruised. Spike followed. His eyes had a strange purple tint, similar to Shining Armour’s eyes when he was under control of Chrysalis. There was a big bruise on his chest, and many more on his arm. Fluttershy wondered if they had fought. But she was more concerned if Twilight was controlling Spike or not.

“I like the new Spike. He does what I say. But this time, he obeys my every command. How cool is that?”

Fluttershy was now 100% sure that Spike was mind-controlled.

“Are you controlling Spike?” Fluttershy asked, whimpering.

“SPIKE! ATTACK!” Twilight commanded.

Spike proceeded to lunge at Fluttershy and scratch her violently. But Fluttershy would not let him reach her.

“I’m sorry for this Spike”

She kicked him up against a tree and started to run again, not before Twilight could get hold of her. Fluttershy tried to fight against the magic, but it was starting to hurt greatly, almost as if this was Twilight’s intention.

“No. I won’t... let...” Fluttershy said as she pushed against the magic with all her strength, but it didn’t work. Twilight’s magic was too strong to fight against

“You should just stop trying. It’s pathetic to watch. Not my taste on comedy.” Twilight smirked and pulled her back harder. At this point, Fluttershy was ready to give up ob fighting against her.

So she did.

Before Rainbow Dash’s funeral, an autopsy took place. Her death just didn’t look natural. They found some wounds caused by blunt force, and even another wound caused by a broken window. A detective said they found traces of an intruder in the room after finding marks left by said intruder in the ventilation system.

It was starting to become clear that Rainbow Dash was murdered. They just didn’t know who did it.

The disappearance of both Fluttershy and Twilight were still being investigated. People have reported attempting to go into the woods but ended up walking into some sort of “invisible wall” A wall even Celestia couldn’t lift. Some feared that the two were trapped in the bubble. They were too right.

“So you gave in, huh?” Twilight asked.

“Yes...” Fluttershy replied, sounding defeated, like there was no hope left.

"Good, now you'll stay here for the rest of your life. Have fun!" Twilight exclaimed, laughing maniacally.

Fluttershy was doomed. she was unsure what to do. She couldn't do anything. She deserved to be here and she knew it. She blamed her friend for her own actions and this is the consequence. Maybe Fluttershy could have picked up her spirits earlier if she had realised it was something Twilight had done to cause Fluttershy to do those things in the Crystal Empire in the first place.

When Twilight and the other 5 ponies went to the Crystal Empire to sort out a problem that could kill everypony living in the area to do with the castle's top as there was a parade going on. But Twilight had changed that day. She was very demanding, and actually accidentally forced Fluttershy into doing those things. Twilight just refused to believe it, and made up her own story that Fluttershy did it on purpose.

Fluttershy was starting to worry if Twilight was possessed. But she just seemed so... normal, but not normal at the same time. Like the story of Jekyll and Hyde. Fluttershy thought that she should probably save the thinking for tomorrow, and went to bed on the soggy, muddy grass. It never felt so uncomfortable to be close to nature.

2-2: Twilight's Plan

Fluttershy woke up, still very tired and covered in mud. Snails were slithering up her hooves and her mane was extremely dirty. She had a dream about the past events after the Quiet Game had started, and had visions of all her animals. She felt so bad for them. She hoped they could take care of themselves. But then she remembered the reason why she kept them in the first place. Because they couldn't. Poor Angel. Poor animals. She couldn't do anything to help them.

Fluttershy fell into a deep depression. It was a depression so deep that Twilight didn't even enjoy seeing her friend helpless because she wouldn't try to get out. Most of the time, she just slept in the muddy grass. Twilight was having seconds thoughts about trapping Fluttershy. Maybe she should have killed her instead. It would have been much more effective. But she remembered the reason why she didn't kill Fluttershy. She wanted to make her suffer. So she left the Everfree Forest and headed to the Canterlot Castle, making sure nopony could see her running around Ponyville. She wanted to make a public announcement. But she had one last talk with Fluttershy.

Well, Fluttershy, I must go. I'm ready to tell the truth behind the incident.

Don't you dare go! You should remember how this was all your fault! You directed me into this madness! You should be the one banished to the Everfree Forest!

I thought you gave up. Like the little wimp you are. Now shut up. And also, ready for another round of the Quiet Game?

No... No... Not again... Please Twilight, don't do this! This isn't you! What about your friends? What about me? What about Spike?

Even under my control, Spike is still an idiot. Got himself eaten by Timber Wolves. It's a bad thing AJ wasn't here to save him again.

No... SPIKE!

Just like... Hum Drum. It's too late. See you NEVER!

Fluttershy was all alone. And she had to stay quiet. Twilight didn't tell her what would happen if she talked, but she knew it would end up with her in a coffin. She hated the new Twilight. She could've sworn her eyes had a... blue tint. If Chrysalis' victim's eyes turned green, that means they were under her control. Same with Twilight, but purple. But blue?

A police investigation was started around the outside of the invisible wall. They had some of the strongest stallions attempt to break the wall, but only small cracks could be made. There was no hope in breaking the wall.

The Rainbow Dash murder hadn't been solved, and with the disappearance of Fluttershy and Twilight to deal with, they let it slide for a while. Two possibly living ponies was more important to deal with than one dead pony. They would simply have to drop the case for a while, and once the two were found, they would get back to it.

Twilight's plan was simple. Distract the guards to get to Princess Celestia and explain what happened. But it wouldn't be as simple to do it as it was to think and say it. She was going to need to use another pony.

2-3: The Escape

Twilight had to distract the guards to get into the castle. She couldn't just simply go in. She wasn't a princess anymore. Besides, since the incident, she could hardly show her face in public. She would be humiliated and tormented. It was like torture for the brain. But she had another plan. A very simple plan.

She had a mind control spell, so she could use it on any pony she saw. She spotted an ordinary looking stallion, and beganto use the spell. He started to get dizzy, but then he gained his balance. His eyes had a purple tint, when they were supposed to be green. That proved it had worked. She made him walk up to the guards, and perform some suspicious actions. The guards eventually started to approach him and question him. This was Twilight's chance. She quickly darted through the entrance. But she realised she had to make all the way to the top balcony, where the princess was standing.

She still had to make it past even more guards, so she came up with a devilish plan. She used her spell on one of the guards, and then made him attack the others violently. The guard under control killed two other guards, as if he was making a kebab with his spear. One of these guards was Shining Armour, Twilight's brother. But she didn't care. Shining was dead to her, both figuratively and literally. Now that everypony was focused on the dead guards, she made her way further into the castle.

After what felt like the whole day, the police force had broken through the invisible wall. They then proceeded to enter the Everfree Forest, starting their search for the two missing ponies. It had been at least a month since they went missing, and some of the force even thought they must have died. But even then, they still had to collect the bodies for obvious reasons. They sent off flares to alert anypony, possibly the missing ponies, of where they were. Fluttershy might have been tired and dizzy from the lack of proper sleep, but she noticed the flare.

She ran as fast as possible. She wished she could fly, but Twilight had broken her wings before she left to prevent quick escape. She must have forgot that Fluttershy was a fast runner in situations like this. Fluttershy was eventually found by the search party, and she was taken into the hospital immediately. She was free of the Everfree Forest, but she wasn't free of the Quiet Game, which would make questions from the police force after being treated harder to answer. She was extremely scared of Twilight. After her experience in the Everfree Forest, she was fully aware of what she was capable of, and she didn't like it.

After a few hours of running through corridors and sneaking past guards, Twilight finally made it to Princess Celestia. Twilight was scared, but she wanted this.

"Princess Celestia. I need to talk to you immediately." Twilight stated, worried about the reply.

"Twilight. Face it. You will never be-"

"FLUTTERSHY CAUSED IT! I NEVER DID ANYTHING WRONG! I'M SORRY ABOUT BEING BOSSY ON THE MISSION, BUT NOPONY WAS LISTENING!" Twilight yelled. She wanted to get it all out on one breath. The princess turned around.

"Well, Fluttershy told me you forced her into doing those things. And that you trapped her in the Everfree Forest and almost killed her and you killed Spike. What is wrong with you? You also must be stupid to think that doing this would be a good idea. Now I know where you are. Right here, standing in front of me."

Twilight gasped. Fluttershy had broken free. And she told Princess Celestia what she had done. She was in for it now. Twilight would kill her, but first, the princess.

"Hmm... You've seen through my charade." Twilight said. Her horn started to glow. "Well, did she tell you I've learnt more magic than you, more powerful too? You don't know what I'm capable of!" Using a powerful blast of magic, she knocked Princess Celestia flying over the balcony, breaking her wings too. She fell all the way to the ground, her limp body grinding against the hillside the entire fall. The princess was dead, and Twilight killed her. She was so happy, now Fluttershy would be the next to die, but then the guards showed up behind her, wielding their spears. This was going to be a long night.

2-4: You Won't Take Me Alive

Author's Note

Sorry for the last chapter (part 3 cancelled, sequel being written instead) being so short. I kinda wanted to make it more of a hint to the contents of the sequel instead of a proper chapter, but here you go anyway.

2-4: You Won't Take Me Alive

Twilight attempted to use her magic on one of the guards, but one used his spear to cut off Twilight's horn, bringing great pain to Twilight's head. She then attempted to dodge the guard's spear as he swung it round again, but it struck her hoof. When they realised Twilight was too beat up to fight, they attempted to take her into custody, but then she bucked a guard right in the nose, causing it to bleed heavily. She got up and kicked another guard across the room. She then attempted to pick up her horn, but a guard pulled her back. She bucked him in the face and headed for the balcony.

Fluttershy was so relieved to be able to live normally again. She came back home to find all of her animals alive and well. She was very happy, but she knew that in the back of her mind, Twilight was still watching. But she actually couldn't. Twilight had lost her horn. Fluttershy was safe. But something bad would still happen. And everypony was unaware of it.

"You'll never take me alive!" Twilight yelled, as she jumped from the balcony, hooves spread out. She was ready for death. She would never be punished for her crimes. She'd be taken dead. Her body hit the ground, close to Celestia's. The guards were traumatised to see both bodies on the ground. They even eventually left their roles.

Once the news of Twilight and Celestia's deaths spread around, ponies grew worried. Who would rule over Equestria? What would happen to the Elements of Harmony? Well, nothing. Nothing bad ever happened to Ponyville for a good while after that incident. Luna ruled over Equestria, and mourned her sister's death every night, and nopony ever spoke of Twilight again. It stayed nice and happy for a long time, maybe even years...

...right?

1-3: Too Quiet

It had been 3 days since the “Quiet Game” had started, and Fluttershy hadn’t said a word.

“Is she usually this quiet?”

“I don’t think so. Yall right Fluttershy?”

Rainbow Dash and Applejack were starting to question Fluttershy’s recent behaviour. She had been more quiet than any pony had ever been at this point. Not only her friends, but the entire town was getting worried about Fluttershy. They were even getting worried about Twilight. Nopony had seen her for the same amount of time. Some ponies thought something happened between the two, mostly theorised to be about the Crystal Empire Disaster. Some even thought Fluttershy had something to do with it. But they were too skeptical to believe the fact fully, although they were right. Fluttershy was the mastermind behind the entire disaster. She might have even done it on purpose for some unknown reason. Even Twilight didn’t have that information, but in her state, she thought Fluttershy had evil in her actions.

“Uh... Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash was starting to get as confused as everypony else. “Is there something wrong?” Fluttershy still didn’t answer.

“Did something happen between you and Twilight?” Applejack asked. At that moment, Fluttershy started sweating. She clenched her teeth and started to step back.

“Umm...”

DON’T TALK.

Fluttershy ran away from the two ponies, faster than she had ever run. Even Rainbow Dash was surprised. Fluttershy just wanted to get away from any possible conversation. Anything to avoid being banished to the Everfree Forest, left to die by Timber Wolves or anything else. She knew what Twilight was capable of, but she didn’t know what the full extent of her magic was, so she didn’t want to break the rules of the Quiet Game, even when she was alone, because Twilight was always listening in. Her life was ruined. There was no point in living through this, but she wasn’t ready to give up yet.

1-4: Accidents Happen

As Fluttershy ran back to her home, Twilight decided this was the perfect time to use one of the tricks he had been practicing. She would summon an Ursa Minor.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash were chasing after Fluttershy, wanting answers.

“Hey... Fluttershy... come... BACK?”

Twilight had already summoned the Ursa Minor, but Fluttershy had run the other way, leaving Rainbow Dash and Applejack standing there in fear, eyes fixed on the angry face of the Ursa Minor. They attempted to run, but the creature grabbed Rainbow Dash’s wing, and started to toss her around like a toy. She was smashing against buildings in the process. Even Twilight was surprised, but still didn’t feel the slightest remorse.

Applejack managed to hide in a bush, but she still had to witness the brutal beating of Rainbow Dash. She couldn’t believe her eyes. It wasn’t so violent before. That’s when Applejack realised it was an Ursa Major. The one problem was that Twilight wasn’t here to stop it. Even though she was still watching from her library. Smiling wide.

It had been days after the Ursa Major left the town, and Rainbow Dash was still in the hospital, lucky to be alive, but at the same time, she wasn’t. The doctors said that if she were to die, it would be a relief due to her current state. Fluttershy decided that she would visit, but she had a different technique of talking.

“F-f-Fluttershy? What are you doing here?” Rainbow Dash could barely speak.

Fluttershy held up a mini whiteboard that said, “I came to visit, but I can’t talk, not able to say why”

YOU ARE LUCKY I DIDN’T MAKE THAT A RULE...

“Well, whatever way you talk, it doesn’t matter. Can you listen for a second though? I... might not be here much longer. The doctors say I have at least a year left due to the damage. But I don’t want any pony to be upset. This is what I want. I’ll be in a better place soon.” Rainbow Dash said. Fluttershy nodded and let Rainbow Dash rest. Maybe she shouldn’t give up after all.

YOU SHOULD! YOU’RE WORTHLESS!

But Fluttershy didn’t listen to Twilight. But that would prove to be foolish.

1-5: Loss

Rainbow Dash died several days later. It was very unexpected. It hit Fluttershy the hardest, as she was under more pressure and more depressed than ever before. She felt trapped. Like she wanted to scream.

She stayed in her cottage all day, every day from that day forward, didn’t even attend Rainbow Dash’s funeral. It was too risky, and she didn’t want to be banished during a time like that. It just wasn’t right.

Twilight, please, I can’t take it. It’s too much pressure. Please. PLEASE!

Sorry, but I’m afraid that’s not how the game works. I’ve done this many times to my Canterlot friends, but I killed them instead, and nopony knows that. You see, I was crazy all along. But being crazy is part of me. Then again, I had to keep them quiet as my loyalty to Celestia was at risk, then again, that was also a charade. You should be lucky that you are being banished for talking.

Wait... WHAT?

Yes, didn’t you notice. You were talking out loud. It made my story rather confusing to listen to. Don’t interrupt other ponies. Now, goodbye Fluttershy. Don’t think you’ll ever get out, dead or alive.

Fluttershy had slipped. She started saying her thoughts out loud and she had been banished to the Everfree Forest for the rest of her life. She didn’t think it could get any worse. But then she heard a growl.

It was a Timber Wolf.

Fluttershy sat in fear as she watched the timber wolf emerge from the bushes. She was going to die quickly. But she didn’t want to. She galloped through the trees, faster than when she ran from her questioning friends only two weeks earlier. It felt like forever for Fluttershy.

After she made her escape, Flutteryshy set up a campfire in the most desolate area she could find. She tried to stay positive, but it couldn’t get harder in a situation like this, especially in Fluttershy’s perspective. For Fluttershy, this was her own personal hell.

She mostly feasted on wild berries that she could find, gambling if they were poisonous or not. She slept on the grass or on a log she dragged from a river. It wasn’t OMG before she realised this area was set up by Twilight.

Author's Note

Sorry this chapter is so short, but I thought it would be better to end the chapter at that part. The rest of this story will mostly take place in Canterlot and the Everfree Forest so keep reading!

EDIT: This story now takes the form of parts (e.g. 1-1, 2-1,3-1)