There were three individuals at the end of the meadow. One was tall, the other medium sized, another short. They had white masks and were hidden within the darkness of the forest.
A triad of blue jays squealed while they ruffled their feathers on top of a moss ridden oak. Fluttershy opened her eyes to the sound of these birds. She stirred up on her homemade wooden bed that she hoof crafted herself. She remembered how she cried her eyes out when the poor trees were cut down by her own volition. There was an internal churn that had plagued her gut every time she recalled that memory. The blanket hoof crafted from worn feathers that were once strewn across the forest floor lay midsection on her body. It had colorations and pieces of feather from different birds.
The sun was brightly lit and blinded Fluttershy as she looked towards the star for a second. She scratched the area around her eye that ached the most. It was a routine that she just couldn’t get used to. The sun at her bed angle was bright to the point where it annoyed her. The windows just weren’t tint enough to block the light.
She moved the bedsheet to a neat folded position that led her hindlegs to become free enough from the sheet. Fluttershy turned over and stretched her front hooves towards the ceiling. The limbs were tight to where the pain subsided into a coalesced relief. It had been a long yesterday to have taken care of the many animals she had befriended. The large bear needed a focused massage on the lower part of his spine. Angel Bunny needed an aloe vera leaf to help heal the dark scab he got when he played near the poison ivy bush. It was a travesty to have to find a leaf at that hour, where the moon swelled high above.
BONK BONK
Fluttershy turned her mess of a head towards her wall. It seemed somepony had come to see her this morning. The knocks must have come from the cottage’s door. Fluttershy went down on all fours and walked through her room. No noises of recurrence as she stared at the wooden frame. She went, and opened the door with a soft screech of its hinges. The door went wide to the side and showcased an empty ponyless view with nature in its usual fair.
She looked for a few seconds to try and discern where the knock came from. Fluttershy found a note with a red splotch on its frame. No openable area to where a message would be. Not a single hidden seal on its paper face. Just a smudge of red atop a crude white paper. She took the paper from the top of her welcome mat that had a pink butterfly on the side of its frame.
She walked back inside and slammed the door. Angel Bunny rose from his small enclosed bed with fat cushions around the side and small ridges atop. He gave a big bunny yawn and leaped out of it. His tired stare was unfazed until he noticed Fluttershy’s shaky gait. There was a feeble attempt to scratch his weak eyelids, but that too was paused by the energy Fluttershy had exuded.
Fluttershy went up to him a little faster. The energy shown by her eyes caused Angel to leap towards her.
“Oh Angel Bunny, we need to get to Twilight, she'll know what to do''.
A sudden chuckle came from outside. The laughter gave the impression of a group of children that had enjoyed a day of splendorous fun. Fluttershy turned quick to where it may have originated from. She hastily ran to the kitchen, her chest sucked in air at an uneasy pattern and her limbs moved quicker than what she was used to, to then have grasped a knife from on top of the cupboard. The knife's blade gleamed against the ray of light that came from outside her window. She went and opened the door towards the danger and leaped out in anticipation to whatever resided outward.
Her eyes were sealed, she was unable to resolve against the reality of danger. Her blade raised high to defend herself with what strength she had. She opened her eyes an inch a minute. Again, there was nothing there. She went to the side of her cottage and turned her head just enough to see that part. There was nothing to see. Her face contorted to a frown and a depressed stare that looked towards the ground. She walked around the entire place. Still no pony of consequence.
“Oh stupid me, I must be exhausted or... going crazy” she said. “Maybe it's time I go to Ponyville and see what's new”.
Fluttershy took in a deep breath of freedom. She thought that she was in real trouble. There was no pony for miles and Ponyville took several hours to get to. She didn’t think that anypony wanted to do harm, but that fear always turned to hysteria. Fluttershy knew that it wasn’t healthy to delve into such madness induced thoughts. Maybe it was time to return to pony civilization and get some healthy dose of relaxation. She returned to the entrance of her cottage and cried a blood curdling scream. Angel Bunnie's torso lay on the floor without a head. Fresh blood seeped out from the open cut of where his head would be. A sentence displayed before her that drenched the floor of his blood.
Find my head or your dead
Fluttershy heard the laughter and turned towards nature. Three individuals far off in the distance. They watched with an almost patient facade. Their white masks stuck onto their faces. They noticed that their prey had seen them. Their heads had turned to the side.
Fluttershy scrambled and slammed the door shut. Locked the door with what locks she had with swift hoof motions. She took several steps back from the door before she felt the cold touch of juice on her hoof. Amidst the shock from seeing all this, the monsters that waited for her, Fluttershy couldn’t react, she had froze from the internal pressure.
From all the chaos of mental thought of what to do. To have a full sprinted go at escaping them through the forest. For the loss of her precious Angel Bunny that would never return. There was one thing she didn’t notice till the sound grated her senses. A beep that recurred at repeat for several minutes. She closed on to the closet with a shaky hoof, tears dripped down her eyes at the pace of her own heart beat, with one motion, the closet door opened. Inside was some kind of alarm with Angel Bunnies head jammed onto its reciever stick. The click of the alarm as it went to zero, Fluttershy ran into a full sprint and leaped through the glass.
The explosion decimated the cottage. Pieces of its body flew everywhere. All charred to bits; Fluttershy flew high as the explosion grew. She flapped her wings and went quick through the sky. An arrow went through her right wing. Fluttershy screamed and spiraled out of control and fell into a mass of dirt. She reeled at the intense pain and gritted her teeth at each attempt to move her limbs. Her body stood with an awkward stance, another arrow hit the earth next to her and she made a desperate race.
She ran so fast that her heart could barely keep up. Her head looked back for a moment to see that those three figures were moving fast towards her. Their sprint was so agile and their hooves moved in rhythm. Another arrow that nearly grazed her scalp. She screamed and leaped to the dense forest where no pony should go.
Fluttershy continued to run for several minutes. She felt so weak, to the point where her body's movement slowed to a crawl. Every limb wobbled at its pathetic attempt to move. And then, there was a tall mountainous wall of a dead end. Fluttershy turned and leaned on the rock surface, her muscles tense and useless at this point. A trail of blood that had followed her. The three masked ponies emerged from the thick fauna into the open grassland.
The little one had a knife grafted to its hoof. The middle sized pony with a tied crossbow on its own hoof raised over its shoulder. The tall one with a flail being swung around like a toy.
Fluttershy looked to her demise and slid down the face of the mountain with her own blood painted against its surface. With what energy Fluttershy had, she gave one last decree to these beasts.
“Who are you ponies!?” she said.
The three whispered to another with soft little words.
The middle sized one shook her head and placed her hoof on her mask. It came off with ease to show a certain Spoiled Rich.
“Ah, might as well humor her, she is Equestia’s very own Element of Kindness after all” said Spoiled Rich.
The tall one took off his mask and spoke with a dour tone.
“Now honey, you do know we shouldn’t be playing with our food like this, let's just get the job done and...!” he said.
The tiny one did the same.
“Oh come on dad, this was all your idea in the first place, might as well humor mom anyways”.
Spoiled Rich smiled with an annoyed shake of her head.
“I swear you two will be the death of me, anyhow, she’ll be dead meat so why should anypony care?”
The three scratched their chins and then nodded their heads.
“Alrighty then, family agreement settled” said Filthy Rich.
“You heard that you dead meat, ask your question before you die” said Spoiled Rich.
Fluttershy gave in to many heavy breaths, blood loss accumulated, consciousness nearly faded. She coughed out a bit of blood that was gained from a broken rib. It dripped over her mouth like fresh vomit and stained over her lower jaw.
“Why... me...?” she said.
Spoiled Rich looked towards her family and raised her hooves in a “whatever” type fashion.
“You're just practice for the real targets, the Apple's” she said.
“Yes, we weren’t sure how to kill an Element of Harmony was going to be like, so we picked you out of… necessity, plus we needed the practice when the Apples time was up”, said Filthy Rich.
“Yea, I can’t wait to ring that little Applebloom’s head off and then stuff it up her own sister's carcass before we take that stupid farm” said Diamond Tiara while she mimicked that act with her own hooves.
“It's nothing personal, you're just a means to an end” said Spoiled Rich.
Fluttershy coughed a bit more blood.
“Alright then, second question…, what do you want said on your tombstones?” said Fluttershy.
The three backed before they put out a heartful and deep set of chuckles.
“Yea, and what are you gonna do to us!?” said Filthy Rich between bouts of laughter.
Unbeknownst to them, a mass of scorpions, large bears, and an assortment of horrid carnivorous creatures skulked out from the greenery. Fluttershy’s eyes were changed to complete silver and her stare ignored all distractions. The beasts came from all over, spiders crawled from above Fluttershy with their thick webs from deep within the mountains. All known creatures of life with sharp talons, teeth, and enormous claws that could tear into flesh with ease.
Diamond Tiara paused her laughter, and saw the beasts that surrounded them. She touched her mom’s hoof and they all were at attention to the army of monsters.
Fluttershy was carried by a large brown bear that snarled with vicious hunger.
“So you three wanted to know what fighting an Element of Harmony would really be like?”.
The three now cornered, huddled together, their weapons fell down with a loud clunk.
“Here's your answer”.
And they were upon them.
_____
Fluttershy slept like a babe. The hospital was bright and filled with love and devotion from her friends. Dozens of presents sat near her body as it rested. A certain pony walked through the door. It was a visitor, none other than Silver Spoon. She came over the body, its rest so calm and uninhibited. Silver Spoon raised a knife as high as her little filly body could. Hoof-steps came from behind her. She clenched her eyes and receded her blade. Silver Spoon left as quick as she appeared.
Fluttershy slept with a calm smile.
