Fluttershy took a nervous sip from her mug. Never before had she ever felt so worried about something in her life. Her hooves were already shaking, and she hadn't even said anything yet.
Rarity's brow furrowed as she noticed this. "Fluttershy darling, are you feeling alright?" Fluttershy's ear flicked, as two sides of her mind fought over what she should say.
The whole reason she invited them here was to tell them, to show them; but her racing heart was telling her to be still. "Um," She paused. "I'm fine."
Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow.
"C'mon sugar cube," Applejack piped up. "You know you can tell us if somethin' is botherin' you."
A moment of tense silence invaded the room. Though this silence, to Fluttershy at least, was louder than any scream she'd ever heard. Fluttershy sighed and bit her lip, trying to think of the right way to put it.
"I- a week ago I was in the everfree forest." The other mares looked to eachother. They'd been in that forest numerous times already by that point, so that wasn't too dramatic. Before anyone could say anything though, Fluttershy continued. "I found someone. Or...something. I don't know what to do, so, I thought I'd ask you, girls."
"Something?" Twilight asked. "What do you mean, 'something'?" Fluttershy paused yet again.
"I don't think he's a pony, but I don't know what else he could be."
"He?" Fluttershy nodded silently to Rarity's question, not having any more courage to speak.
"Well, where is 'he'?" Rainbow asked. Fluttershy glanced down the hallway, down that hallway was her bedroom, with a mysterious creature living inside. Twilight and the others followed her gaze, then simultaneously, they all stared back to the yellow pegasus.
"Well, let's go see-" Twilight was abruptly interrupted.
"N-no!" Fluttershy stammered, "He's still not used to other ponies yet; I should get him for you." Without a moment's hesitation, she jumped down from her stool and trotted fast down the hall.
"Do you think we should be worried?" Spike muttered. Having been silent this whole time, his sudden addition to the conversation made Applejack jump a little.
"I'm sure it's perfectly fine," Twilight reassured, trying her best not to seem just as worried as everyone else.
"If you say so," Rainbow muttered under her breath.
As Fluttershy entered the bedroom, she called out softly, "Onyx?" As soon as the name left her lips, the bedsheets began to stir. Fluttershy watched as the figure, still wrapped in blankets, sat up.
Looking at him here and now, Fluttershy's ears flattened, as she realized he was much scarier-looking than she realized. She hoped that the girls wouldn't be too put off. Most of all, she hoped that Rainbow wouldn't jump to some conclusion and try to attack him.
Fluttershy sighed and walked up to the side of the bed. "Come on, Onyx." She cooed. "It's okay, follow me. I have something to show you."
Bone thin limbs slowly stepped to the wooden floorboards. Feathers rubbed against the bedsheets as Onyx crawled out from under them. His piercing eyes, white with glowing red pupils, shone in the darkness of the room.
Finally, Fluttershy reappeared. "Well, where is he?" Applejack asked after another moment of silence. Fluttershy scuffed the floor with her hoof, then muttered something under her breath.
"Onyx," she called over her shoulder, "Come on, it's okay."
Silence. After a few moments, the girls' ears flattened. Half of the creature's face was visible, peeking out from around the hallway corner. Two feet above Fluttershy's head, staring into the living room. Fluttershy looked up at him and placed her hoof on his arm, then gently pulled him into view.
As soon as he was visible, everyone's mouth dropped open, and their eyes widened. Rarity's magic cut off, and her cup fell to the floor.
Tall, boney, he almost had skeleton-thin limbs. His mane was short, matted, unkempt and wild, and also grew down his back and tail, not just his neck. Sharp fangs protruded from his maw, like a sabertooth tiger. His tail was unicorn-like, complete with the tuft of hair on its end. However, it was much longer, like a snake's tail. Just like a unicorn, he also had cloven hooves, but only on his back limbs. His front limbs had strange finger-like digits, with smaller hoof-like claws on the tip of each.
He had an extra set of arms, which he held close to his sides. The extra pair also bore the strange hoof-like claws and were just as long and thin as the rest of his limbs. On his back, was a pair of wings, pegasus-like wings, which had bat-like webbing in place of the primary and secondary feathers. He was so tall, he held his head low, as to not hit it against the doorway. But the strangest part of all, he had large metal shackles stuck around his ankles and neck. The broken chain still dangled from the one around his throat.
Everyone was silent. Fluttershy felt a lump appear in her throat. She trotted quickly to the kitchen and returned shortly after with a fish. Onyx sat down on his haunches as soon as he saw the tasty morsel, gratefully took it from Fluttershy and swallowed it nearly whole.
As he licked his lips with his long, slender, pointed tongue, Fluttershy looked back to the girls and Spike.
Their mouths were still agape, and the look in their eyes were mixtures of horror and shock.
"...He really is nice; he's just a bit scary, that's all." Fluttershy muttered. Another moment of tense silence ensued, the only sound was the wind outside, and Onyx's dog-like growls as he scratched his ear.
Then, a voice broke the silence. "Why didn't you tell us about this sooner?!" Twilight exclaimed. She got down from her chair, her feathers fluffing up as she eagerly, but slowly made her way up to the creature. Twilight looked him up and down, trying to make heads or tails of the beast. Soon enough, the other mares calmed down a bit, though Spike was still a bit apprehensive.
Fluttershy couldn't help but sigh with relief. This thankfully went much better than expected.
